Tests of Fate
by Seth Turtle
Summary: Seemingly out of the blue, Gennai sends a message to the 02 digidestined. Unfortunately, this isn't a friendly call, but a test to see if the children are worthy or capable of being Digi-Destined. TK/Kari/Davis triangle, Kenyako.
1. Arrival

The digidestined looked at the glowing pool of liquid with awe and wonder. It would be a misnomer to call it water, because water didn't ripple without wind.

"This must be it," suggested Kari.

"We've checked everywhere else," said Cody. "This has to be it."

_What's this? What's going on?_

TK nodded. "Okay, then let's get it and get out of here," said the boy as he stepped up to the pool and looked down, expecting to see a muddy waterbed. "...I can't see the bottom."

"So what?" said Yolei. "It's just dirty water."

"In the digital world, it can be anything," said Ken warningly. TK nodded in affirmation.

"Well we have to check to see if the egg is inside don't we?" said Kari. "If we give up now, then we'll never see Gatomon again."

_Is this a dream? It has to be...I'm nowhere in sight. I'd never miss a mission if I had a say in the matter._

"Who has to pick the egg up?" Ken asked.

Kari glanced down at her D-terminal. "Since Davis isn't here, I have to."

_Why am I not there? What the heck is going on?_

Cody, Ken, and Yolei stepped back while TK moved closer to the girl. "Okay Kari...be careful," said TK just before he touched her lips gently with his own. Kari accepted the kiss and added her own emotions to it.

_Hmph...this has to be a nightmare. TJ and Kari aren't like that (thankfully)!_

Eventually they broke the kiss. "I'll be waiting for you," said TK softly.

"I'll be with you soon," she answered just as quietly. TK finally joined the others, while Kari turned and knelt next to the strange shimmering pool. As the others watched intently, Kari extended her hand ever so slowly towards the opaque liquid.

_...This is weird. What are they doing? What eggs are they looking for?_

The instant Kari touched the liquid, she cried out in pain. A horrible, disgusting noise of flesh being burned filled the air, and Kari seemed to be the source. Or rather...her hand seemed to be the source.

"It's acid!" cried Ken as the kids all ran forward to try and aid her.

"Help me!!" she cried just as she was seemingly pulled into the fluid. TK and the others gasped in total shock at the sight. TK was about to jump in, but Ken and Yolei held him back as best they could.

"Kari!!" he cried.

_Kari!!_

The girl's hand poked up one last instant, though most of it was burned and melted beyond recognition. Soon, her hand once again sank down into the murky acid, disappearing with one last bubble of air from what was left of her lungs.

_NOOO!!!!_

****

"NO!!!" cried the young man. Davis jerked awake, dripping in sweat and breathing heavily. He looked left and right, shouting Kari's name pleadingly. Slowly, he began to realize where he was, though that didn't take away the pain he felt. He clenched his knees to his chest and slowly wept into his knees at the horribly vivid nightmare.

"Davis?!" cried Jun as she came running into his room, dressed in her nightie and covered in the standard facemask she wore every night. She quickly ran over to her little brother's bed and put a hand around the shaking boy's shoulders. Davis didn't seem to notice. Instead he just continued to weep and tremble, while Jun comforted him.

"Shh..." she whispered. "It's okay...you just had a nightmare."

Davis looked up at her through teary eyes. Slowly, a smile formed on his lips. "What are you doing here?"

Jun realized what he meant. She definitely wasn't prone to acts of sisterly love nowadays, since all they did was fight. Slowly, she smiled back. "Old habits die hard. When you were little and had nightmares, I would come in and take care of you. Mom and Dad are such heavy sleepers."

"I didn't know you could actually be a nice sister," he said softly.

"It must be because it's two in the morning," she whispered back.

Davis laughed a little and wiped the tears from his face as he nodded in agreement. "Well...thanks sis."

"What happened?" she asked sympathetically. "You haven't woken up in the middle of the night like this in years."

Davis sighed sorrowfully. "...I dreamt that someone I loved was dying...dying horribly."

"How awful..."

Just the memory of the dream was enough to restart Davis' weeping, though this time it wasn't as strong. Davis lay his head on Jun's shoulder, and he cried a little more before finally falling asleep. Jun carefully lay him down on the bed once again, and whispered good night to him before returning to her room to get to sleep herself.

----------------------

Motomiya Residence

Later that morning...

----------------------

Davis swirled his spoon around in his bowl of Lucky Charms slowly and methodically. This had been going on for the past ten minutes at the table. His parents had already left for work (even though it was Saturday), so he and Jun were the only ones at home as usual. Jun was already leaving by the time she noticed Davis sitting at the table in just his boxers.

"Davis, hurry up unless you want your friends to see you like that," Jun said as she grabbed a poptart from a cupboard in the kitchen.

"Huh?" he responded after coming out of his trance.

"It's 7:30 right now. You still have to get dressed for the game."

"Yes 'mother'." Davis gave up on eating and dumped the cereal into the sink. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The Teenage Wolves are playing down at the stadium today, so I have to take the bus down there in time to get in line. If I start now I should get there in time to get a good spot." Jun picked up her camera and stuck it in her bag, along with some film and some money.

"Are you going to throw your bra at Matt again?" Davis said with a laugh as he went to his room to get dressed.

"Hey, how do you know about that?!" bellowed Jun from the living room.

"TK told me how you pelted Matt in the face at the last concert," Davis yelled back from his room. "He says you'd be a great pitcher."

Jun whined and held her hands in her face. "I can't believe Matt knew it was me! I'm so embarrassed..." 

Davis ran out in his standard soccer attire- a red shirt with a number 18 on the back, along with white shorts and red and black cleats. In addition though, he brought out his goggles, just because he felt better wearing them. They wouldn't let him wear them during the game (since they weren't prescription ^_^;), but that didn't matter. Besides, they were like his good luck charm.

"Okay, I'm ready!" he cheered. "See, unlike you, I don't take an hour to get dressed."

"Yeah, but you don't smell as good as I do," she said, plugging her nose as she walked out the door.

"Very funny!" he shouted as she shut the door behind her.

****

Davis heard a knock at the door, and quickly grabbed his stuff on the way there. He answered the door, and saw exactly who he expected...though it made him sad to do so.

"Hey Davis, you ready?" asked Kari. Davis looked at her face, and then without answering he took her hand and examined it closely. The others looked at each other wonderingly, though neither Kari nor anybody else stopped him.

"Davis, you okay?" asked Yolei.

Davis shook himself awake and let go of Kari's hand. "Uh...yeah. Sorry." The young man walked out the door quickly and shut it behind him. "Let's go," he said as he bounded down the stairwell. The others followed him at a slower pace.

"What was _that_ all about?" asked TK.

Kari shrugged. "Don't ask me."

"He's Davis," said Cody simply. "Nobody understands Davis- not even his own family."

"I guess," said TK just as their D-terminals all beeped in unison. "Whoa!"

They all stopped to look at their messages. They read them calmly, though slowly their faces grew more and more shocked. By the time they finished reading them, they were all a bit surprised.

"Am I seeing things, or is this a message from Gennai?" asked TK.

Davis bounded back up the stairs to where they all stood. "What's going on?"

"There's a message from Gennai," repeated TK. "He says we're needed in the digital world immediately."

"Hold on, you mean _the_ Gennai?" asked Yolei. "The one from when you guys were kids? I thought he was gone."

"I thought so too," said TK. "But it's definitely his style of messaging."

"You mean that dancing old guy in the corner of the message is normal?" said Davis.

"Yep, that's Gennai," said Kari. "He's always been a little weird."

"The message says that we have to go to the digital world right away," said Cody. "There's a gate coordinate on the bottom of the message."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Yolei. "Let's go!"

"Right now?!" whined Davis. "I've got a soccer game against Ken's team! We have a bet going on who makes the most goals this game!"

"Davis, which is more important; a stupid bet or the digiworld?" said Yolei.

"But it's twenty bucks!"

"Let's go! We can use my computer," said Kari as they ran to the stairwell that led to her apartment. Davis eventually followed the rest of them, still whimpering. When he caught up with them, they were already inside at the Kamiya computer terminal. Kari was running through the house, telling Gatomon to wake up, resulting in a miniature squabble between the two. Eventually they joined the rest, who were busy opening the gate and warning their digimon at home to be prepared for pick-up.

"Digiport o-pen!"

****

(After each digimon was picked up...)

The digi-team exited from the TV in a flash...or rather, a heap. After sorting themselves out, they stood up and looked around the room curiously. They had arrived in a room the size of any typical living room, though this one was furnished with a much different decor than any living room the kids knew of. This room had a couch, two cushy chairs, and a table in the center with five or six flashlights on it. The walls were covered with pictures of very familiar people...

Cody walked over to one of them. "Hey...isn't this a picture of TK and Kari?"

"What?" TK and Kari walked over to where Cody stood, and looked up at the picture. Indeed, it was a picture of the two...although they were younger in the picture. In fact, it was a picture of them from three or four years ago. They were each sitting at a campfire, apparently talking about something. Whoever (or whatever) took the picture had apparently done so from a hidden spot outside the camp, judging from the angle of the photo.

Davis and Yolei walked up behind the other three and looked at the picture as well. "...Whoa. Creepy."

Yolei walked over to another picture nearby. "Here's a picture of me!" The others looked at that picture and saw a little Yolei, also eight years old. The picture looked like a school photo, judging from her less than flattering shot.

"Here's one of me!" said Davis, looking at what appeared to be an old soccer photo from several years ago. "Man, I look good..."

"Why are all these pictures of us here?" Kari said nervously.

"Here's some of Ken and I," said Cody calmly from the other side of the room. "Mine is from about three years ago too."

"So these are all _old_ pictures," said TK. "Why would Gennai have us come here? What's going on?"

The TV glowed once again, and this time the final digidestined appeared, along with his little green digimon partner. Ken's eyes picked up everyone in the room before he was even fully materialized. He and Wormmon stepped into the room warily. "...What's going on?"

"Ken, you got the call to?" asked Yolei.

"Of course I did, but where are we?" Before anyone could answer, the digimon started to cry out in pain.

"Aaaahhgghh! Kari!" cried Gatomon as she doubled over in pain.

"Gatomon! What's wrong?!" answered the girl as she fell to her knees and clutched the digimon. The others did the same with their digimon, all of whom were engulfed in a searing pain.

"What's happening?!" cried Yolei as Hawkmon collapsed. "Guys, what's wrong?!"

"Wormmon!" yelled Ken just as the digimon depixelated right in his arms. The rest of the digimon did likewise almost at the same time, leaving each kid with a look of panic and unbridled fear.

"They...they vanished!" cried Yolei. "They..."

"No, not again!!" cried Ken. "Not!"

**Digidestined...**

Davis looked over at the TV they had entered through. "What the..."

**Do not worry. Your digimon are safe...for the moment.**

Ken ran over to the TV screen and grabbed it violently. "What did you do to them?! Where are they?!"

**They are safe. If you want to see them again, you would do well to listen to me.**

Davis stood up and clenched his fist angrily. "...Who are you," he said evenly.

**Don't you recognize my voice? Oh wait, you haven't heard my voice before have you Davis?**

"How do you know my name?!"

TK looked up in horror at the TV screen. "...Gennai? That's Gennai's voice!"

**Correct. Greetings TK.**

"Gennai is the one who just killed are digimon?!" yelled Davis.

**I did not kill them. I just got through saying that didn't I?**

"Then where are they?!"

**...They are safe. If you complete the task I have for you, then they'll be returned to you. Otherwise...you'll never see them again.**

"What?!"

TK stood up angrily. "You are _not_ Gennai! Gennai wouldn't do anything like this!"

**TK, you're going to have to trust me. I can't explain to you why I'm doing this, but for now you'll have to believe me when I say I'm doing this for your own good.**

Kari looked at her empty arms, and slowly clenched them before her. "Poor Gatomon..."

TK looked back at the TV screen. After seeing Kari's current state, he was less than amused by this. "Whoever you are...you'd better explain yourself real quick and real well, before we find you and do something you'll regret."

**Heh heh heh, that would be interesting. I never knew you had that kind of aggression in you TK. But even if you could find me, I don't think you could win against a trained warrior. Anyway, I still haven't explained what you're all here for.**

Yolei helped Kari up, and eventually the whole team stood before the TV set to see a display of nine crests on the screen. Two for Davis, Cody, and Yolei, and one for TK, Kari, and Ken. **Each of you are a digidestined, and have done your jobs for some time now...but unfortunately, you haven't quite lived up to the standards of those in charge of the whole thing.**

"What do you mean?!" yelled Davis. "We defeated BlackWargreymon!"

**Eh...not quite. Azulongmon, the Eastern Guardian, took care of him.**

"We helped though!" retorted Davis. "We freed him from confinement!"

**After losing five of the six Destiny Stones in the process.**

Suddenly Davis didn't look so confident. "Well..."

**My point is that the six of you may not be worthy to serve as Digidestined.**

"What?!" they shouted.

**I thought that'd get your attention. So, I'm here to find out just how skilled you are as chosen children. Assuming you follow my instructions correctly, precisely, and effectively, you'll show me what I want to know, and you'll free your digimon pals from returning to an eternity as digieggs.**

Yolei was seconds away from smashing the TV. "You cruel piece of-"

**Silence!!**

"..."

**That's better. Now, I assume you'll be accepting my proposal?**

"Proposal..." repeated Davis, nearly spitting out the word. "Well Kari, this Gennai you've told us about is one big jerk."

"Arukenimon is nicer company," said Yolei, equally as distasteful. Cody stood by quietly, while Ken worked on calming himself after that relapse of Wormmon's death.

"I guess we have no choice," said TK in an angry whisper. "...What is it you want us to do 'Gennai'?...if that's who you really are."

**Actually, it's not that simple. Each of you will be doing something for me, and only sometimes will you be working together. There are a few segments to this task, as it is fairly complex.**

"Oh come on..."

**At each successive completion of a segment, you will get _one_ digiegg. Fair enough?**

Davis looked at the others. They didn't answer vocally, but he could see their thoughts. "...Fine Gennai. Let's get this over with."

**Good. As you may have guessed, there are six segments to this- one for each digimon. Each segment will have two or three simple yet trying instructions to complete. Once you satisfy my conditions in whatever way you see fit, I declare whether you have completed the given task or not. If you fail, that particular digimon will not be returned, and that digidestined will be stripped of their digivices. Understood?**

"Geez, this sounds like a game show," said Yolei disapprovingly.

**...Whether you think this is a game or not, the results of your decisions are real. Beware chosen children...your "final answer" won't necessarily be an easy one to make. You'll have to make choices that may decide the fates of your digimon...each other...or even your _own_ lives. Are you prepared for such a responsibility?**

The six digidestined looked at each other once again. They didn't have to think too hard to answer this question. Davis leaned towards the TV screen, and ominously whispered...

"Bring it on."

****

NEXT: The first task is given...


	2. The Meaning of Love: Yolei's Test

-----------

-----------

Day 1

9:00 AM

-----------

It was only about an hour until the TV screen flickered to life once again. The screen was filled with static, though the audio from it was crystal clear. The voice of the old man known as Gennai got the attention of the six digidestined. **Digidestined, it's time to begin.**

"Finally!" said Davis angrily. "What took you so long?"

**It's no secret that my connections aren't very consistent. Right Kari?** The girl didn't answer. **...Right. Anyway, let's get started. First and foremost, Davis.**

Davis punched a fist into his other hand. "Right! What do I have to do?! I can do anything you give me!"

**...We'll see. Place your digivice to this TV screen and open the digiport.**

Davis looked confused. "...Why?"

**You will be sent to a new location for your "testing".** **Only when you complete your task will you return to this room.**

The young man nodded. "Gotcha."

"Be careful Davis," said Kari.

Davis smiled. "Don't worry. This guy doesn't worry me."

The TV screen started to glow as the digiport program activated. **You _should_ be worried young man.**

"Digiport open!" The typical white light surrounded Davis, transporting him to someplace else, leaving the rest of the digidestined by themselves.

"This is crazy," said Yolei as she sat at the couch with Cody.

**Trust me, I don't like this any more than you do. I'm just doing my job. I have to earn a living to pay for all my Internet hours you know.**

Cody silently watched the continuing drama unfold. _Yolei's right. This _is_ crazy. If this is really the Gennai that Izzy and the other older kids talk about, then why is he being so...secretive about this whole thing? There must be someone else involved...but who?_

--------------

Elsewhere...

--------------

Davis slowly opened his eyes. He felt the back of his head, where a nice-sized lump was already forming. That ride through the digital gate was a little rougher than he was used to. It reminded him of the team's first few trips that ended with them falling out of the gate in piles.

"Ohh...where am I?"

**_Welcome Davis._**

Davis looked at his surroundings for the first time, and noticed just how dark it was. Everything was pitch black, except for a patch of light surrounding him. He looked around for the source of the voice, but in truth it sounded like it was coming from everywhere.

**_How do you feel?_**

"...Like a ton of bricks fell on my head." Davis stood up on wobbly feet, and found that he still had enough balance to succeed at the task. Unfortunately, he looked like he was drunk at the same time.

**_Yes, I apologize for that, but the gate's not used to the strain of transferring individuals to the digital limbo._**

Davis almost fell over again after hearing that. "Limbo? Does that mean that I'm..."

**_More or less. Don't worry, it's only temporary. You and I'll be getting busy as soon as Gennai begins the next task._**

"What?"

**_Gennai was right. You do have bad hearing._**

"Who are you?"

**_Don't worry, I'm not your enemy and neither is Gennai. He and I are serious about testing you children, but we don't have any malice towards you._**

"Uh...you still didn't tell me who you are."

**_That's for me to know and you to find out Davis. If you pass your test, then I'll tell you everything you want to know._**

Davis regained his determined look. "What do I have to do?"

**_Just watch...listen...and learn._**

****

(Back at "The Room"...)

**All right...time for the next test.**

"Next test?" asked Ken. "What about Davis?"

**Davis...isn't going to be joining us anytime soon. His test is much different than the ones you will undertake.**

Kari started to look worried. "Where did you send Davis?"

**...It's probably better if I not say. Trust me Kari, he's fine.**

"...I don't think we can trust you, 'Gennai'," said Yolei bluntly.

**You don't like me very much, do you Yolei?**

"Well, I try to be open with my feelings," she answered with a sarcastic smile.

**So I noticed. Let's hope you can use that to your advantage in this test.**

Yolei looked at each of the other digidestined. "You mean I'm going next?"

**Indeed you are. Take a flashlight, step up to the gate and use the digiport.**

"A flashlight? Isn't it light outside?"

**Not where you're going.**

Yolei stood up and took a flashlight from the table as well. She headed over to the gate, but halfway there she crossed paths with Kari. The two hugged, sort of as an afterthought, but also because after Davis'..."disappearance"...they weren't sure what would happen next.

"Good luck Yolei," said Ken as she stopped in front of the gate.

Yolei smiled. "Thanks Ken." Ken's eyes locked with hers for a brief moment, though he diverted his gaze just as quickly. Yolei's smile was replaced with a sad frown as she turned her attention to the digiport.

**Once you enter the gate, you won't be able to contact your friends.**

Yolei nodded. "O-kay. Digiport open!"

-----------------

Moments later...

-----------------

Yolei blinked a few times as the light from the digiport disappeared, revealing a dark and foggy landscape. Just as Gennai said, there was little to no light, thanks to the sky being completely covered in gray, billowy clouds in addition to the pea soup fog around her. As if in response to her presence, a crack of thunder filled the sky, signaling the start of a heavy rain shower that instantly soaked Yolei to the bone.

"Just my luck," she muttered as she clicked on the flashlight she had. Seeing a path ahead of her, she started down it in hopes of finding a place to wait out the rain. After a ten-minute stroll through the fog, Yolei made out what looked like a cave along side the path. Immediately she ran inside and immediately started squeezing the water out of the edge of her clothes.

"Hello," said a sweet, masculine voice in the cave with her.

Yolei jumped and shot the beam of her flashlight straight into the cave. To her surprise, she saw the back of a young man. He was sitting on a rock, looking deeper into the cave despite the almost complete lack of light. Upon closer inspection, his hair was short, purple and neatly combed, and he was clothed in a light gray uniform of some kind. Though his back was turned to her, Yolei recognized him immediately...though she didn't know why he was here.

"Ken? How did you get here? Did Gennai send you here too?"

The young man didn't answer. Yolei looked at him quizzically as she wrung out her pilot cap that was a part of her digital wardrobe. She approached the young man and tapped him on the shoulder. "Ken?" Again, no answer. This angered Yolei a little, though it also made her a little frightened. "...Ken?" The young man turned around, revealing the final piece of his wardrobe- a pair of stylized yellow glasses with strange purple designs on them. The youth smiled evilly as she looked with horror at the face before her.

"I'm sorry...were you expecting someone else?" the youth asked in the same sweet voice, followed by a maniacal laugh that chilled Yolei to the bone. "There's no Ken here...only me, the Digimon Emperor! Haaaa ha ha ha ha!" Other than the trademark shades of the evil villain and the equally recognized personality, it looked as if Ken Ichijouji stood before Yolei. It was strange...yet scary at the same time.

Yolei backed away. "No...that's impossible! You can't be here!"

The Digimon Emperor stood up, and in one fluid shimmer his clothes changed into his standard garb- the purple cape and suit, complete with a black whip. Even his hair resumed it's normal appearance. "Why not? I never went away digi-dimwit!"

"That's a lie!" she retorted, still backing away a little. "Wormmon brought Ken back, and got rid of you!"

The Digimon Emperor laughed yet again, seemingly genuinely amused at the comment. "That worthless little bug can't get rid of me that easy! It was a trick! The Ken you claim to know is just a ruse! A disguise! A ploy to catch you off guard so that I can destroy you all!!"

Yolei stopped her retreat at the edge of the cave. "You're the fake! You're Arukenimon's slave! A wicked monster hiding behind his whips and dark spirals!"

He smiled his evil grin once again. "So that's what you think? Heh heh heh...you think you understand me so well don't you? You think that just because Ken's given up the cape means he's Mister Goody Two-shoes?! He hasn't changed at all! He's still me!" The Digimon Emperor pulled out his whip and cracked it at Yolei. She yelped in pain, and a thin line of blood appeared on her cheek. She brought her hand up to it, and looked down to see her own crimson blood on her palm.

"What are you going to do little girl?" the Emperor asked teasingly. "Your pitiful bird isn't here to protect you."

"This can't be happening..." Yolei said softly. "Ken isn't like this..."

The Digimon Emperor laughed. "You still don't get it do you?! Ken _is_ like this! Ken is ME! Ken may seem to have turned over a new leaf, but he'll always have that one dark spot in his soul that I am! It will never leave! Any day now, I'll come back in full strength and resume my reign as the ruler of the digital world!"

Yolei shook her head. "NO! You're a liar!"

"Ha ha ha ha...you know so little about what I am. I'm not some monster that Arukenimon threw together with control spires. Arukenimon and her masters are not the ones who made me go to the digital world and use Sam's digivice! They simply showed me the path. It was me that walked it! Me! Arukenimon didn't make the Digimon Emperor. Ken did!!"

Yolei didn't want to believe it...but it was true. She had never tried to think about it, because she didn't want to believe that the Ken she saw looking at her every now and then...the Ken who she couldn't stop dreaming of...was the same as this monster before her. But it was true- Yolei knew that, but she didn't want to believe it. She had constantly lied to her own heart about Ken's past...she didn't want to think of him as anything less than perfect.

"So the truth comes out," the Digimon Emperor said with a laugh as he cracked the whip again, this time making a nice gash across her right arm. She reflexively clutched it and cringed in pain. "You can't be honest with yourself, and you claim to be the Child of Sincerity!" He kicked her out into the rain, knocking the wind out of her at the same time. "You claim to love someone you don't even understand! You cannot love Ken unless you accept the truth!"

Yolei looked up at him. "...The truth?"

Her adversary smiled. "The truth is that Ken and I are the same. We always have been, and we always will be. Someday, when another tragedy comes in his life, you may see these yellow shades once again." With those last words, the Digimon Emperor disappeared from sight, like a ghost that melted into the foggy background. The young man disappeared, leaving only the yellow shades and the purple clothes that the Digimon Emperor wore. They fell harmlessly to the ground, landing with a light splash of mud.

Yolei stayed on the ground for a long time. She eventually sighed and reluctantly stood up again. Her clothes were once again soaking wet, but now she was at least washing away some of the blood from her cuts.

**Do you understand child?**

Yolei nodded softly. "I don't know…"

**You said it before when you found the digiegg of Sincerity. You promised to not judge a person by their face and that you would try to be open with everyone.**

"That's right. I did say that, and I've been trying to do that ever since!"

**Have you?**

"…Yes, I have."

**What else have you done?**

"…What do you mean 'what else'? What else do I have to do?"

**It's not what you 'have' to do…it's what you 'want' to do that counts. You possess the power of Love and Sincerity. These traits are what bring the team closer together in mind, body, and spirit. That is what Love and Sincerity are all about. It is your duty to be an example of this for the other members of the team. All you 'have' to do is show them what love really means…what sincerity really means.**

"But what does this have to do with the Digimon Emperor and Ken?"

The Digimon Emperor's costume and glasses floated into the air before Yolei. **That is for you to figure out. Ken is just the hint, created by your own mind.**

"My own mind?"

**Yes. These tests aren't of my creation. They are your own thoughts and fears, brought to life. It is up to you to interpret them and learn from them. My job is to decide if your interpretation is correct and good for the team or not. **

"…"

****

Do you understand now?

Yolei slowly took the articles of clothing as understanding dawned on her. "...I think so."

**We shall see if you do. Now go and do what you 'want' to do.**

Yolei nodded. She proceeded down the path once again, using her flashlight to navigate the fog as quickly as possible.

****

The TV screen flashed a bright white, and from the gate appeared Yolei once again, only this time she was much worse for wear. The girl slumped to her knees as the light disappeared.

"Yolei!" cried Kari as she ran over to help her friend, along with the three boys. "Yolei, are you all right?! You're bleeding!"

Yolei looked up shivering. "I'm cold..."

"Where's Flamedramon when you need him," Ken muttered. "Get her to the couch, and I'll go look for some blankets in the closet."

"...Closet?" Yolei asked as she was helped to the nearby couch.

Cody nodded. "There's food and water in the next room, along with a closet of excess articles. I think we're inside someone's house in the digital world...possibly a replica of Gennai's."

TK nodded. "If that's true, then that TV might be how he communicated with us all those times."

Ken came running back out with a handful of blankets. He wrapped Yolei with them, and she gladly accepted the warmth they provided. "Here you go. We have to get you dry Yolei, or else you'll catch hypothermia."

Yolei shook her head. "No, wait. I have to finish Gennai's task."

"What do you have to do?" asked Cody.

Yolei looked up at Ken. "...Ken, please sit here with me...alone."

"What?" said TK confusedly.

"Please guys?" she asked.

"...All right," TK answered. He looked at Cody and Kari, and the three nodded and walked into the other room, while Ken sat on the couch next to her nervously.

"So what is it that Gennai wants you to do?" he asked eventually.

Yolei tried to look him in the eyes, but Ken seemed unwilling to do the same. Yolei sighed sadly and just looked at the table before them instead. "Ken...we have to be honest with ourselves."

"Be honest with each other?" he repeated. "Well...sure, I guess. What do you want to know?"

"That's not what I meant," she answered softly.

Ken didn't like where this was going. "...What do you mean?" Yolei pulled out the glasses she had retrieved from the other place, along with the bundled up costume of the Digimon Emperor. The instant Ken saw them, he almost screamed and ran. Yolei put a firm yet reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Ken..."

"Where'd you get those?!" he cried. "Get 'em away from me! Please!"

Yolei clutched them in her free hand, while using the other to lightly restrain Ken. "Ken...don't be afraid."

Ken's eyes were locked fearfully on the objects. Slowly, he seemed to regain some measure of composure, though he was obviously not comfortable with those things in the same room with him. "Yolei...why did you bring these here? What are you trying to do to me?"

Yolei slowly moved the hand that was restraining Ken up to his cheek. The touch of her hand was warm, despite the fact that the rest of her was still shivering even with the blankets. "I just want you to know that I'm here with you...and I want to help you forget your pain."

"'Forget my pain'?"

Yolei held up the glasses. Again, Ken was visibly uncomfortable, but he didn't try to move away. "The Digimon Emperor is the part of you that tries to deal with all the pain that you feel...such as when Sam died." Ken's eyes clamped shut as he felt a pang of grief inside him at the mention of Sam's name. Yolei closed her hands around his. "I know that you still can't let go of what you did. I want you to know that you don't have to bear the pain all by yourself. I'm here for you too."

"...I can't ask you to do that. Besides Yolei...you don't understand what this pain feels like."

Yolei moved a little closer to Ken. "Then help me to understand. If you don't tell me what you're feeling, I can't help you." Yolei removed her hands from his. "You have to let me inside."

"...I...don't know how."

Yolei put the costume and glasses in Ken's lap, and put her hands on his again. "You know what to do Ken..."

Ken shook his head. "No, I can't-"

"Please Ken..." Yolei caressed the back of his hand softly, which definitely got the young man's attention. "...It's all right. I'm here for you."

Ken looked deeply into her eyes. He could see that she was afraid...just as afraid as he was. He didn't want to do this...but it _was_ the way he expressed his innermost feelings for such a long time. Old habits die hard...or so the saying goes.

"All right Yolei...but I still don't like this..."

"I know Ken...I know...But it's the only way I can think of to see what's going on inside your mind right now. You have to show me how you feel."

Ken Ichijouji stood up and walked to the side of the room behind the couch. Yolei remained fixated on the table in front of her, trying not to dwell on the fact that a really cute guy was undressing behind her. Yolei heard the sound of his clothes being tossed away, and the sound of a new set of clothing being donned, button after button.

Yolei turned around slowly, and saw that Ken's back was turned towards her. The base piece of his costume was fully buttoned by now, and the young man reached down for his cape. He slowly swung it around his shoulders and snapped it in place. At this point, he paused in his dressing, and let his gloved hands fall to his sides.

"...Ken?" said Yolei tentatively.

"...I'm all right," he answered eventually. Slowly he reached up and ruffled his neatly-combed hair until it fit the appearance of his dark alter-ego...at least as best as he could manage. Yolei wasn't sure how he did it, but the hair actually seemed to shift into the required style...almost as if the same force that gave the digidestined their special wardrobe was giving Ken his special hairdo. Needless to say, this made Yolei a little nervous, but Ken seemed to be surprisingly calm about it. For the final touch, Ken reached for the yellow glasses and slowly put them on his face. Finally, he turned around and looked at Yolei sadly through the eyes of the Digimon Emperor. She gasped at the sight, though much of the fear she felt remained inside her. Plus, it was hard to be afraid when she looked into Ken's sorrowful eyes...even if they were behind those tinted shades.

"How do you feel?" Yolei asked softly. Ken didn't answer. Instead he looked down at his hands, as if he had forgotten what it felt like to wear that costume. Yolei stood up and slowly walked over to the other digidestined, though it took a bit of effort to get close to him while he was in that costume. She slowly wrapped her arms around him and held him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He tensed up uncomfortably as she did this, but he was eventually able to build up the courage to hug her as well. As they stood there, he relaxed enough to notice that she too was a little tense... though not for the same reasons. She repeated her question. "How do you feel Ken?"

"...Scared."

"...Of what?"

No answer was forth coming. Whatever it was that Ken was feeling, he still wasn't willing to share it with Yolei. All he could do was stand there numbly, feeling old and buried emotions rise to the surface.

**He's not ready yet, Yolei.** **You've done all that you can for now.**

Yolei continued to hold Ken as he trembled in her arms. She didn't want to let him go...especially in his current, vulnerable state. However, Ken was starting to realize what was going on, and his nervousness took over once again. The young man dressed as the Digimon Emperor let go of Yolei and slowly backed away.

"...You should get the others," he said timidly. "I'd better change out of this, before-"

**No Ken. I'm afraid that until your test is completed, you must keep that costume on.**

Yolei turned angrily towards Gennai's TV. "Can't you see how much this is hurting him?!"

**I'm sorry, but it is part of his test Yolei. Ken _must_ remain in the garb of the Digimon Emperor until I say he can remove it.**

"Don't worry Yolei," Ken said as she turned around. "I think I'll be all right."

"...Okay. Even if you aren't, I'll be here for you Ken. I'll help you get through this any way I can."

Ken smiled lightly. "...Thank you Yolei. You don't know how much that means to me." Yolei blushed a little bit. A flash of light from the TV interrupted the emotional situation. A brown egg formed on the ground as the light disappeared. Yolei ran over and scooped it up, hugging it happily.

"Oh Hawkmon...I'm so glad he's going to be okay," she said happily. 

****

Congratulations, Yolei. You've shown me that you were the right choice for Love and Sincerity. Even if you don't fully comprehend it yet, you will someday soon. 

"When will Hawkmon's egg hatch?"

**Soon. You may have passed your test Yolei...but we shall see if the others can succeed in proving themselves worthy like you did. Next…we shall see if Ken's heart is as strong as yours is.**

****

Davis watched as Yolei and Ken parted from each other. As she dove to the floor to take hold of Hawkmon's egg, the mystical projection of the events disappeared. The space around him once again became totally dark except for the glow surrounding him like a spotlight.

"Wow...Yolei actually did it."

**_Did what?_**

"...She satisfied Gennai somehow."

**_Do you understand what she's learned?_**

"I think so," Davis said without too much confidence. "You have to be sincere and helpful if you want to truly love someone."

**_Wise words to remember._**

Davis caught the subtle hint...at least it seemed like a hint to him. "Are you talking about me and Kari?"

**_Was I?_**

Davis was about to say "yes"...but something about what Yolei was saying stopped him. "...I...I don't understand her."

**_What don't you understand about her?_**

"...Everything," he answered sadly. "I can't figure her out sometimes."

**_'Figure her out'? Oh yes...human boys try to 'figure out' human girls, rather than simply learn to understand them._**

"What are you talking about?"

**_You're mistaking comprehension with understanding._**

Davis didn't answer immediately. "Uh...let me find a dictionary..."

**_*sigh* Understanding can mean lots of things Davis. For example...do you know why Kari and TK are so close?_**

Davis shrugged. "They've been friends ever since they were digidestined three years ago."

**_You say that as if it were a simple matter._**

"TK and her may have been digidestined for a little longer than I have, but that doesn't mean TK should be closer to Kari than I am."

**_Davis...do you know what they did during their time together as digidestined?_**

Davis thought back to the stories he heard from Tai and the others. "They fought some guys called the Dark Masters."

**_'Some guys'? The Dark Masters aren't just another group of digimon. They were evil and powerful beyond anything you've faced yet._**

"Even worse than Blackwargreymon?"

**_Even worse than him, yes. Also, they didn't have the ability to return home to their mothers and the safety of their own homes when they were frightened or overpowered._**

"I know that," said Davis indignantly.

**_Tell me...how would you act if you were in that situation?_**

"I wouldn't be scared of anything! Camping out in the digital world isn't as tough as you make it out to be."

**_For TK and Kari...it was a bit more than what you think it was. They were very young...and they depended on each other and their brothers for support and protection. They had to grow up very quickly if they wanted to survive._**

Davis frowned. "So?"

**_They have depended on each other for strength, nurturing, and protection for a long time Davis. Feelings like that develop much differently than the professional relationship you and Kari share._**

"'Professional relationship'?! We're good friends!"

**_That may be true...but if it were a choice between you and TK...I'll bet you a million dollars that I know who she'd save in a crisis._**

Davis was hit by that comment like it was a ton of bricks. He was paralyzed and unable to argue back with the voice...because he knew that he was probably right.

**_So you see Davis...just as Yolei learned to understand Ken, you must do the same with Kari. Kari is your friend, and someday she may have feelings for you ...but you'll never have the bond that she and TK share, as much as you wish it were otherwise._**

Davis slumped to his knees. The youth's eyes were glittering with potential tears, but none of them fell. He had to be strong. He didn't want this guy to see him be weak...especially since he seemed to be in on the test that Gennai is giving them. Though his face was grim and free of tears, his heart was crushed under the weight of the voice's comment.

**_Don't dwell on it too long Davis. You and I will be having more "fun" pretty soon. Trust me…this is only the beginning._**


	3. An Empty Heart: Ken's Test

-----------

-----------

Day One

11:00 AM

-----------

Hawkmon frilled his feathers for the tenth time that hour. "Ugh...that egg was so confining. It's nice to be free again."

"Do you remember anything that happened?" asked Yolei.

Hawkmon shrugged. "After we disappeared, the last thing I remember was seeing a bright light, and waking up here in the room with everyone around me. As far as I'm concerned, nothing happened."

"Weird..." muttered TK. "Whatever Gennai did, it certainly wasn't a normal reconfiguration."

"It might as well be!" complained Hawkmon. "It hurt like the dickens!"

**...It's time.**

The kids in the room stopped their conversation and looked over at the young man dressed as the Digimon Emperor, who stood up. For the last hour or so, Ken had been the object of much tension in the room. The horror that was the Digimon Emperor was long gone as far as the others were concerned, but the sight of that costume was enough to bring back their old tension. For Ken it wasn't much better- it was a strong reminder of the monster he was once before. Something he didn't want to be reminded of.

**Step up to the TV and hold up your digivice.** Ken nodded and stepped up to the screen. Slowly he held up his black digivice, while the others watched.

"Good luck Ken," said TK, breaking the silence.

Ken looked over his shoulder and nodded to the boy. He looked down at Yolei, who locked eyes with him momentarily. The boy gave her a slight nod as well, which she seemed unable to answer, since she was so intent on keeping his eyes on hers. Finally, Ken turned around to the gate once again, and in a flash of bright white light, he was gone.

"...Ken."

-----------------

Another place...

-----------------

Ken regained his sight soon after the light disappeared. When he could see clearly, he looked at his surroundings...his familiar surroundings. He was standing on a sidewalk of a major street in a city of Japan. People were walking to and fro, going about their daily lives, apparently oblivious to his presence. Ken could feel the warm spring air and the small breeze that accompanied it. In a way, it was...soothing.

**Where are we Ken?**

"Gennai?"

**This is all news to me as much as it is to you, my boy. I'm here to watch, but you're the one whose going to have to explain what's going on.** Ken nodded and looked around once again, trying to figure out where he saw this place before. He took one look at the street signs that named the roads, and his eyes went wide as recognition dawned on him.

"...This is the street where Sam died."

**I see...your brother was hit by a car, correct?**

The old memories of Sam's accident came back to the surface. The old pain that accompanied it wore Ken's self-control thin. "...Yes."

**So why do you think we're here?**

"...I don't know."

A couple yards down the street, a small boy ran up to the edge of the street and yelled out Sam's name. Ken looked over instantly, and was amazed at what he saw. He saw a young boy, barely old enough to go to school, with purple hair and big, searching eyes. "Sam!!" he cried out again.

"That...that's me!" said Ken. "...But if I'm still looking for Sam...then that means he'll be-" Ken whipped around to the other side of the street, where he indeed saw the older Ichijouji brother walking down the street towards the young boy. Judging from the expression on Sam's face, he was still a little angry about what Ken had done earlier with the strange object that came out of Sam's computer. Of course, being an older brother, he couldn't stay mad at him forever, so slowly a smile formed on his lips as he walked across the street. The boy was apparently oblivious to the car racing down the street with a driver that was obviously not entirely sober.

The older Ken ran over to where Sam was walking, all the while shouting, "Sam, don't! There's a car coming!" Ken reached his older brother, but when he tried to push him out of the path of the car, he fell right through the boy. Ken fell to the ground, while the sound of screeching tires filled his ears. A scream filled the air...and a *thunk* could be heard as Sam and the car met. Ken turned around just in time to see Sam's loosely tied shoe fall to the ground before his younger self, while Sam's body fell several yards down the street...lifeless.

The older Ken stared at where Sam fell with a look of horror. The pain surged in his heart, and the boy cried out with all his heart and all his lungs to the rest of the world. "SAAAAAAM!"

"Sam..." whispered the younger Ken. The little boy was in complete shock. Never before had he seen anything so horrible as this. As the people walking through the city came to the scene to try and help, both Ken's simply stared at where Sam fell...and weeped.

**...Sam's death. Possibly the most horrible experience in your life. Certainly, it was the first step on your path to darkness.**

The older Ken gritted his teeth angrily as he tried to stop crying. "Why are you showing me this?! Why are you making me see this again?!"

**I told you Ken...I'm just along for the ride. I didn't make these images...you are. Your mind is trying to tell you something. It's your job to figure out what.**

"What?! Why would I show myself this?! I never wanted to see Sam's death again!" People continued to walk by, still not noticing the strangely-clad preteen kneeling on the ground before the car that hit his brother.

"...I...I didn't mean it..." said the younger Ichijouji, clear as day despite the fact that they were in the midst of a crowd of screaming people and sirens. Ken looked over at his younger self, who repeated the words softly. "...I didn't mean it Sam...don't disappear..."

**What is this..."disappearing" stuff?**

Ken felt the guilt in his heart, stronger than ever, as he recounted the events that led up to this tragedy. "...Earlier, I stole Sam's digivice from his room and used it on his computer. When he found out...he got mad and said he could never trust me again. I got mad too...and I wished that he would just disappear forever." Ken looked sadly over at the crowd surrounding Sam's body, where a team of medics were declaring the boy beyond help. "...I killed Sam."

**So that's what this is all about. You think Sam's death is your fault, so you feel guilty.**

"It is my fault," whispered Ken again. "I wished for it to happen...and it did."

**Ken...you may have been a genius, but you weren't a magician. You can't kill somebody just by wishing it to happen. You had no control over him being hit by that car. It was beyond your control.**

"But you just saw what happened!" said Ken, looking over at his younger self, who was in the care of some policemen at the moment. "I didn't do anything to help him! All I could do was watch as my brother was hit by that car. I didn't even shout a warning to him..."

**You're only human...and at the time you were only child. Nobody can blame you for your inaction. Even if you did do something, it's likely Sam would still have died, and possibly you would have too. Fate intended for your brother to die...so Fate is the culprit, not you.**

Ken remained kneeled on the ground, unable to get up from the weight of his emotions. "...I can't get the guilt out of my heart. When I found Wormmon again...I said that I could forget...but I can't do it on my own. Everything I've done so far is my fault. Sam...the Control Spires...Wormmon...Arukenimon's arrival...Blackwargreymon...they all happened because of me." Ken looked down at his gloved hands, and clenched them tightly as he screamed once again. He slammed his fists to the ground and resumed his crying, as the images around him slowly started to change. The concrete streets and steel buildings became total blackness. Ken looked around, and voices started to echo through the space around him.

[Arukenimon] "You served us well, my boy..."

"...Whose there?" Ken said as he looked around. "Gennai, are you still here?"

[Cody] "I don't trust him..."

"Cody?"

[Wormmon] "It's your fault that I died!!"

"Wormmon...?"

[Yolei] "He's a monster!"

[Kari] "The Digimon Emperor is pure evil!"

[TK] "Anything evil must be destroyed!"

"I'm sorry...please forgive me."

[Evil laughter, followed by Sam's voice] "You killed me, Ken..."

Ken felt pain deep in his heart. "...Sam?"

[Sam] "It's all your fault!! You made me die!!"

"I didn't mean it...I'm sorry..."

[Sam] "I'll never forgive you!!"

Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared, and Ken was momentarily blinded by its intensity. He felt a wave of warmth overwash him, and the voices around him silenced in an instant. They were replaced with the calm, sweet sounds of a brook slowly drizzling by. Ken slowly regained his sight, and saw that he was in a beautiful, hilly scene like out of his dreams. The sky was filled with billowy white clouds, and the sun shined its warm rays down on the grassy earth where Ken was. Ken looked around at the windswept hills, and his eyes fell upon a figure in the distance. A feminine figure with long, flowing purple hair, sitting next to the brook at the base of the hill he was on, clothed in a flowing, silky violet dress. She was mythical in appearance, but Ken knew her immediately.

"...Yolei?" he whispered. The girl calmly looked up at where Ken was, and smiled up at him. She motioned for him to come over to where she was, which Ken curiously complied to. When he was at the base of the hill with her, he stood there, letting the wind flow through his cape as it passed over him.

"Yolei? What are you doing here?" Yolei indicated that Ken be silent by putting a finger to her lips. Ken, although confused, stayed quiet for the moment. Yolei motioned that Ken sit next to her. Ken felt that same nervousness that he always got when he was around Yolei, but he did his best to ignore it for the moment. Something about Yolei was different right now...something that made him feel less uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the feeling of peacefulness this place created in his heart...and the look of happiness on her face. Eventually, Ken sat down next to her, though still with enough space to keep him comfortable (about arms length). Yolei stared into the tiny stream before them, while Ken looked at her curiously and tried to figure out what was going on.

"...Yolei, what is this place?" Ken asked, finally breaking the forced silence.

Yolei looked over at him with a light smile on her face. "...This is your heart."

"My heart?"

Yolei nodded. "That part of you that laughs and smiles...and blows bubbles that fly forever. This is where your inner child is...the part of you that disappeared when all the bad things started happening." Yolei seemed saddened by this, and the wind seemed to become cooler at the moment her sad frown appeared. Ken started to grow uneasy.

"...My inner child," he repeated to himself. "That's right...I had forgotten about this place. I thought I had found it when I found Wormmon...but all I really found was an empty shell of what my heart used to be."

"This place...is beautiful," said Yolei as she resumed her watch of the stream. "...Where did you find such a beautiful place?"

Ken's mind drifted back to his early childhood...way back. It was difficult to remember the good times in his life...but something was making it a little easier this time around. Perhaps because he has done this sort of soul-searching before. 

"...A long time ago, my family took a vacation to a place in the country. These hills and this brook were nearby...and we spent the whole day just playing around as a family." Ken looked at the stream as he remembered that day. "...It was the best day of my life. Not because of anything we did...but because we did it together...as a family. Out here my parents didn't care about Sam's accomplishments...and neither did Sam or I. All of us were just a family. It's the only time I can remember where I didn't feel like I was in Sam's shadow."

Yolei smiled and closed her eyes as she breathed in the clean country air. "I'm glad you brought me here Ken."

Ken looked confused. "...Brought you here?"

"Yes...you brought me here. I'm in your heart now...now, and I hope forever." Ken started to feel nervous again, but he resisted the urge to leave. He didn't want to leave her.

"Yolei...how can you be in my heart? I've never told you how I feel...I don't know how to say my feelings...not anymore." 

Yolei moved over to Ken and kneeled in front of him. She rested her hands on her lap, and looked into Ken's sad eyes.

"Ken...you already have shown me how you feel. Words aren't needed for that sort of thing." She added with a smile, "It doesn't take words to say 'I love you'."

Ken smiled back, but he was still troubled inside. "But...that's not enough. How can I show you that I love you? I can't even laugh with you guys...I've forgotten how."

"That's not true," Yolei said sympathetically. "You didn't forget...you just can't reach it. Your heart is smothered by all your guilt."

Slowly, the boy genius started to understand what this was all about. He understood what his mind was trying to tell him...what this dream version of Yolei was trying to show him. "...If I want to live a normal, happy life...it's not enough to just find my heart. I have to let go of my guilt...let go of the past and my mistakes, and fill my heart with happy things."

"It's what you've always tried to do. What you've always said you would do."

"I've tried...but I can't do it on my own. The pain keeps coming back..."

Yolei lifted a hand up and softly caressed Ken's cheek, like her real counterpart did in the cabin, back in reality. "I could wait forever for you Ken...but we don't have that much time. We're children right now...but life passes us quickly. You have to forgive yourself Ken...or you'll be alone and sad forever. You have to try harder to let go of the past...harder than you've been trying. Otherwise, you'll never be truly alive."

Ken held her hand to his cheek. "But...Yolei...I can't. I...I can't do this on my own. Please...help me," he pleaded, looking deeply into her eyes with his own tear-filled gaze. "Please..."

The dream Yolei started to cry herself, and the skies above them began to turn gray and dark as rainclouds descended on the perfect scene. "Ken...I can't help you. You're the only one who can let go of your past. But when you do...I'll be waiting for you. I'm waiting for you in the cabin right now...wishing that you'll be alright." Yolei moved her hand from Ken's cheek to his chest, over where his heart was. "I'll be here..."

Yolei started to fade away, which made Ken grow alarmed. "No! Yolei, don't leave me!"

_Good bye Ken...I'll be waiting for you...my love..._

"Yolei!!" he cried one last time, before she faded away completely, leaving him alone on the windswept hills as the clouds let the rain fall. The rain did little to him, thanks to the costume he now wore, but even without it he would have been oblivious to it. His pain was all that concerned him.

"...Why does everyone I love leave me when I need them the most," whispered Ken.

"I've never left you, little brother."

Ken whipped around, and saw another boy walking towards him. He had purple hair and black-rimmed glasses, and wore a hooded sweater with jeans. Despite the heavy rain that poured down on them, the young man seemed unaffected by it. Even his glasses were completely rain-free. As Ken watched the other young man approach, he felt the tears inside him flow once more.

"...Sam? Is it really you?" Ken asked softly as the young man came within arms length of him.

"As real as I can be," he answered. "It's been a long time Ken...I've missed you. I see you have a new fashion," Sam said as he fingered the material of Ken's costume.

Ken wiped the tears and rainwater off his shades. "I've missed you too Sam..."

Sam smiled and put a hand on Ken's shoulder. "Listen...I'm sorry for everything that happened."

"What do you mean? You didn't do anything..."

"Yeah I did," he replied. "I made you think that I didn't love you. I made you feel guilty for what happened to me...when you shouldn't."

"*sniff*...I didn't mean to say that I wanted you to disappear forever. I really didn't..."

Sam drew him closer so that they were hugging, with Ken crying into the boy's shoulder. "I know, I know...it's okay Ken. You didn't do anything wrong..."

"*sniff*...But I-"

"Ken...brothers fight. When they fight...they sometimes say things they didn't mean. Like when I said that I would never trust you ever again...I later wished that I hadn't said that."

"...Really? *sniff* You didn't mean it?"

Sam backed off a bit so that they could look face to face. "Of course not little brother. I was just angry...but I shouldn't have been so mean to you about what happened. I never worked up the courage to apologize to you...but if I had known that there would be a day when I couldn't see you again...then I would have apologized sooner. I never wanted things to turn out the way they did. I caused you so much pain...and now I wish that I had thought things through first. I guess even geniuses like you and me can be stupid sometimes, eh?"

"Sam..."

The older Ichijouji smiled and looked around at the environment, which had started to clear up as the storm passed. Some of the rays of the sun started peeking through the clouds, illuminating the hills and making the wet grass sparkle with little rainbows of color. "I remember this place...it was six years ago, right?"

Ken nodded. "Yes."

Sam went over to the brook and picked up a handful of water, which drizzled through his fingers before he simply let it fall back into the stream. "This is the stream that you and I used to have that boat race, right?"

Ken smiled. "I remember that. We made paper boats and had a race, and both our boats ended up sinking right here." Ken stood at a point on the brook, then seemed to change his mind and stepped a couple paces upstream. "No, it was here."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, I remember that too. We sure had a blast here." Sam sat on the ground where Yolei was before, while Ken stood by the stream, remembering some of his happier childhood memories.

Ken looked over at his older brother. "Sam...do you know all about..." Ken motioned down at his costume. "...this?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I know about the Digimon Emperor...and I know that I had a hand in you becoming that."

Ken sighed. "No...it wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't your fault either," the boy answered. "Someone else tookk advantage of you. You were young and innocent...and hurt, thanks to me. It couldn't be helped."

"Sam...do you think this would have happened if...you were alive?"

Sam slowly shook his head. "Maybe not...but then again, if I was alive, you'd never have become the person you are today. If I had to make a choice between who you are now, and who you would have been if I was still around...then I'd choose you now."

Ken's eyes widened. "Sam...how can you say that? I'm not a genius like you anymore..."

Sam stood up. "Ken, it's not about that. You could be dumb as a rock, and I wouldn't change anything. You have something that I didn't have. You have a gentle heart...a kind heart, that I never had. I was just concerned about myself, and how proud Mom and Dad were of me. I didn't worry about being nice...and that was what started the whole thing, didn't it? "

Ken looked down at the brook again, and slowly pulled out his black digivice. He remembered how this used to be Sam's digivice...before he died and it was passed on to Ken. Now that Sam was here before him, he felt a little guilty as he remembered the fight that started it all. Sam walked over and looked at the device as well.

"When that thing arrived...I never would have guessed how to use it, or why. You did though...which just goes to show you that you truly were destined for this life."

Ken clenched the digivice tightly. "It's because of this thing that you were mad at me...and because of this thing that I became the Digimon Emperor. Now, here I am, trying to prove to Gennai that I'm worthy of using it."

"You are, Ken," said Sam. "You have more heart than I ever could have. That's why you can't let it go to waste by feeling guilty for the rest of your life. My death is not your fault...it was just fate. Everything that happened is in the past now...so let's just forgive and forget."

Ken looked at his brother through his tinted shades. "...You would forgive me Sam?"

Sam smiled. "Only if you can forgive me, little brother."

Ken nodded. "Of course I forgive you. I've never blamed you for anything..."

"I know, you keep blaming yourself," he said with a smile. "So will you stop blaming yourself now?"

"...I'll try."

Sam patted Ken on the back. "...Thanks Ken."

"You too."

Sam looked down at his watch, and sighed sadly. "I've gotta head back pretty soon. They didn't give me much time."

"Sam, don't!" Ken pleaded.

"I have to Ken. I can't be here forever...but I think I have time for one more thing."

"...What's that?"

Sam went over to a nearby patch of grass and reached behind it. Seemingly from nowhere, he pulled out two straws and two cups of liquid that Ken recognized immediately. Sam walked back to where Ken stood, and smiled. "...You think you can still do this?"

Ken tentatively took a straw and cup and held them nervously. "...It's been a while."

"Same here," replied Sam as he dipped his straw into his cup. Sam brought his straw to his lips and blew through the straw to make some bubbles. As usually happened with his, there came a multitude of smaller bubbles which popped pretty quickly. Sam chuckled as he dipped the straw into his cup again. "Some things never change I guess."

Ken dipped his straw into his cup and put the tip of it between his lips. With a steady, gentle breath of air from his lungs, a large bubble formed at the other end of the straw before finally flying free. The giant bubble floated carelessly into the sky, before finally popping about twenty feet in the air.

"I guess there are some things you just don't forget," said Sam as he watched the bubble. No answer came, so he looked over at his little brother, who was intent on the straw and cup in his hands. "...Ken?"

Sam could see a smile on Ken's lips. "...I feel so much better when I do this."

Sam took his straw out of his cup and prepared to blow through it again. "Blowing bubbles always made you happy." He blew a string of bubbles through the straw, trying to blow as gently as Ken did, but ended up just spraying liquid out the other end of the straw like a water fountain. He put it back into the cup once more. "For me...it was one of the few times when I didn't feel like Sam Ichijouji, boy genius."

Ken finished blowing another bubble that sailed high into the sky, before popping high above them. "Really?"

"Really. I felt like Sam Ichijouji, brother and pal of Ken Ichijouji. It's the only part of me that wasn't supposed to impress our parents or anybody else...the only part of me that was truly happy."

Ken smiled at his brother. "...Thanks Sam."

"No, thank you Ken." Sam brought his straw to his lips, and blowed a slow puff of air through the straw. A fair-sized bubble floated from it, going about five feet away before finally popping. Ken and Sam both looked at it with amazement.

"Hey, you did it!" said Ken.

"It still isn't as good as yours, but I think you've got competition now!" said Sam. Both boys laughed, and they resumed their bubble-blowing for nearly half an hour as they talked about anything that came to mind. By the time the cups were empty of fluid, Sam's time was just about up.

"Well...looks like I'd better be going," Sam said.

Ken frowned sadly. "I wish you didn't have to leave Sam. I haven't felt this well in ages."

"I won't ever leave you, little brother. I'll always be watching over you, until you and I can be together again. Besides...I've gotta make sure you're practicing."

"...Practicing?"

Sam smiled. "Next time we meet, I may be able to blow a bubble just as good as yours." Ken returned the smile in kind. The two Ichijouji brothers hugged each other one last time, before Sam started to walk down the brook. After only a few steps, Sam looked over his shoulder.

"By the way Ken...that girl with the purple hair and glasses..."

"You mean Yolei?"

"Yeah...I think you and her have something. Don't let it go to waste."

Ken smiled. "I won't." 

Sam chuckled a bit. "Good luck." Sam waved one last time before walking down the brook, and finally fading away.

"...Goodbye Sam," he whispered as the other boy disappeared. Ken heard a strange noise coming from his body, and looked down to see the purple costume of the Digimon Emperor burst into tiny pixels of color that disappeared into the air. Ken gazed down in shock at himself, but before he could register what was happening, the boy was surrounded in a bright white light that flashed around him and blinded him momentarily. Before his sight was even fully returned, Ken could hear the sounds of the other digidestined coming to greet him.

"Ken, you're back!" cheered TK. "We were so worried! You've been gone for an hour!"

"What happened to your costume?" asked Cody.

**That particular costume is gone forever...right Ken?**

"Right," the boy answered. "I won't let my guilt of being the Digimon Emperor rule over my life anymore. It's time that I live my life."

"What do you mean?" asked Yolei as she walked into the group.

"...You'll find out later," said Ken with a sweet smile. Yolei's eyes widened a bit, and her cheeks turned red as she tried to hide her surprise. While Yolei mentioned how hot it was in Gennai's home, Ken looked over at the TV screen, where Kari was picking up an object from the floor.

"This appeared with you," said Kari as she brought it over to Ken. It was a white digiegg with pink hearts all around it.

"Wormmon's egg!" said Ken happily. "I must have passed Gennai's test."

**Yes, young Ichijouji. You passed with flying colors as far as I'm concerned. Congratulations.**

Ken bowed politely to the TV. "Thank you sir."

**Hey, I may look like I'm a hundred, but you don't have to call me sir. Gennai is just fine.**

Ken nodded. "Thank you, Gennai."

**Don't mention it. Now, get some rest and enjoy some lunch. I'll inform you children of the next test subject when the time comes.**

"I'll get us some sandwiches!" said Yolei as she dashed into the kitchen, followed by Hawkmon. Ken watched her leave, smiling while she playfully dashed around Gennai's kitchen. A pair of fingers snapped a couple of times in front of Ken's eyes, causing the young man to come back into reality. He glanced over at the snapper, TK, who was smiling in amusement at Ken.

"What?" TK only laughed a little and sat down where Cody was playing Solitaire.

****

**_Ken did remarkably well, I think._**

"Of course he did. Ken's been through this stuff before."

**_That doesn't make it any easier. Any trip into the soul can be a painful one._**

"I guess."

**_You know that part of his success is thanks to you, right?_**

"...What do you mean?"

**_Well apparently, you were the first to open up to him after he stopped being the Digimon Emperor. If it weren't for that first step, he might never been able to find his heart._**

Davis shrugged. "I didn't really do anything. I just wanted to help him out. You know...make friends."

**_...I see. Gennai said you were the kind of guy to do that. You aren't very bright, but you try to make friends and tend to be loyal to them._**

"...Why do you say it like that? You sound disappointed."

**...**

"...Are you going to tell me? You're testing me right? I should have a right to know."

**_...Okay. Basically...Gennai and I collaborated on who would most likely succeed in these tests. We were in agreement with everyone...except you._**

"Except me?"

**_Gennai and I both believe the others have the strength to get through these tests. It would be tough...but we believe the others can pull it off. You however...I wasn't sure._**

"You don't think I can handle some stupid test?!"

**_No. I think your just a brash, young punk who thinks he's better than he really is. I doubt whether you can handle being a digidestined, but it wasn't my choice at the time. Gennai believes you're worthy, much like Tai and Matt were in the original team...but I don't share his optimism._**

"I'll show you! I can take anything you can dish out, jerk!"

**_...We'll see, Davis. Your test will have to wait until the others have finished theirs. There's more for you to see. You've yet to see what TK and Kari end up doing_.**

Davis looked angrily at the apparent source of the voice and growled angrily. "What are you talking about?!"

The voice laughed at Davis' anger._ **You'll see soon enough. I'm sure you'll enjoy it though.**_

"..."

**_Yes...I'm sure you will..._**


	4. Forgotten Smile: Cody's Test

Davis lay on the cold floor, staring up at the source of light that illuminated the spot he was in. Growing bored from that useless task, he stood up and straightened his clothes while taking another look around into the darkness. As before, he could see nothing that came even close to a building, a ground, or anything like that. Davis still wasn't sure whether the ground itself was actually made out of anything- or whether it was even really there- but the fact that he wasn't falling through space told him that something was holding him up.

As his curiosity rose, Davis decided to do some tests of his own. The digidestined took a single, methodical step into the darkness, hoping to get out of that annoying light and perhaps find out where he was. The beam of light moved with him like a spotlight, which actually made Davis smile a bit. The boy took another step, this time to a perpendicular direction, and the light followed him there as well.

"Heh heh heh..." laughed the boy to himself. Davis took off at high speed and started running in random directions, trying to outrun the spotlight that illuminated his position. Each time he did this, the light jerked left and right as it tried to keep up with him, and Davis continued to avoid the light source as best he could, until finally something big and strong like metal whacked him on his back- hard. Davis fell flat on his face, and didn't get up for a little while thanks to the strength of the hit.

**_Stop messing with the light._**

Davis groaned and sat up so that he was sitting again. "Afraid I might break it?"

**_No, it just irritates me._**

"Well I'm bored out of my mind! Why do we have to wait an hour at a time for these 'tests' of yours?!"

**_Gennai's connections are poor, so he can only give instructions every other hour._**

"Well why don't _you_ do it?!"

**_I cannot manipulate things in the Digital World, or else my presence might be discovered._**

Davis' curiosity worked up again. "So you're hiding, eh..."

**_No. I'm simply trying to keep my power hidden, so that the powers of darkness won't try to attack me._**

"So you don't work for the powers of darkness?"

**_If I'm working with Gennai, isn't that pretty obvious?_**

"No! I know Gennai is supposed to be a good guy, but during this whole testing mess he's been nothing but a jerk as far as I'm concerned! Besides, if you're good, why don't you show yourself?!"

**_I will when you have completed your test._**

Davis groaned again in complaint. "Whatever, but by the time we get around to _my_ test, I'll look as old as Gennai!"

**_That would be an improvement._**

"Watch it jerk, or I'll start running around in circles again!"

**_I can smack you around all day if I need too, so if you insist on getting beaten to a pulp, start running._** Davis huffed and crossed his arms, but didn't get up to run.

"Hey pal, what's my test going to be like anyway? Is it going to be like the others, where I do that "soul searching" junk, or do I actually have to do something tough?"

**_While I doubt you could survive one minute of soul-searching, you won't get the chance. Your test is indeed a little different from the others. It's a bit more...physical._**

Davis smiled. "All right! What do I have to do?! Fight someone or run the five-minute mile?!"

**_You'll find out...assuming you survive your time in here with me._**

"You're not so tough!" said Davis, sticking his tongue out.

The voice growled a bit. **_Just try me, goggle boy._**

Davis put up his balled fists. "You want some?!"

** __**

*ping* 

_Hmm...you just lucked out punk. It's time for Cody's trial._ A section of the darkness swirled into the floating view of Gennai's room, and the sound of the others talking could be heard. Davis lowered his fists and sat down to watch.

"_You_ were the one who lucked out," muttered Davis under his breath.

****

**Cody.**

The boy looked up when he heard his name being called. He stood up and bowed lightly. "Yes."

**It's your turn.**

The boy nodded to the TV screen, although he was unsure if good manners applied to appliances. "Okay."

**I should also warn you that this test won't be for Armadillomon's egg.**

"What?! What do you mean?!"

**This test will be for Patamon's egg.**

TK's expression grew worried, and Cody's just grew angry. "What game are you playing Gennai?"

**These aren't my rules. All I know is that Patamon's life depends on Cody succeeding. Good luck, young man.**

Cody looked over at TK, who returned the look with worry. Quickly seeing the same worry enter Cody's face, he put on a smile and nodded. "I have faith in you Cody. I know you can do it."

The child's nervousness didn't leave, but he returned the nod and turned back to the TV screen wordlessly. The digiport program appeared onscreen, and Cody held up his digivice so that he could open the gate to wherever it may lead. "Digiport open!" With those words, the gate unlocked, and a bright white light filled the room.

"Good luck Cody!" said Kari. "We aren't going to lose anybody, okay?"

Cody turned and nodded. "Don't worry. If my test is anything like Ken's and Yolei's, then I have nothing to worry about because I have nothing to hide."

"How do you know what our tests were about?!" yelled Yolei, her face blushing a little.

"Let's just say your face doesn't lie." While TK chuckled at Yolei and Ken's embarrassment, Cody stepped into the white light and waited for his test to begin.

****

==Elsewhere...==

Cody looked around, and saw that he was at least in someplace familiar- the underwater oil platform where the digidestined found the digiegg of Reliability. Cody found it interesting that he was here, but unlike his last visit here, he wasn't afraid. Those days of being afraid of the water are gone. So why was he here?

"Hello?" called out Cody to the rest of the building, wondering if anyone (or anything) else was present. Looking around the room where the digidestined were trapped during their last visit, he found it empty, and surprisingly intact considering what occurred last time. It looked as if they had never been there. Eventually, after walking full circle around the underwater construct's central column, Cody stopped walking.

"*Sigh*...what am I supposed to do." Cody closed his eyes in deep thought, and tried to think of why he could possibly be there for this test. "Think Cody, think." Since nobody had spoken to him yet, Cody guessed he was on his own for this one. No matter. As far as he was concerned, he could do this by himself if he needed to. The question was...what was he supposed to do? Cody crossed his arms and looked at the ground as he tried to think, while the other digidestined walked around and talked, oblivious to his presence.

_What am I supposed to do? If this is a test of whether I'm worthy of being a digidestined, then I would guess that it involves knowledge and reliability somehow. Now, since I'm here in the oil platform, the test probably involves this place too...or maybe it's just a trick, or a random place._ Cody unconsciously began to pace. _Come on Cody, think! You can't let TK down!_

"Again, Cody," said a new, but still familiar voice. Cody looked up, and again he was surprised by a sudden change in the environment. Instead of the underground oil platform, he was now inside a kendo training room- probably the one built in Cody's building. In the center of the room, two people sparred with kendo sticks and the standard protective uniform and helmet. Judging from the size of the two combatants, and the skill and style each displayed, Cody knew immediately who they were.

A quick lunge to the right from the smaller of the two opened him up to the taller opponent's weapon, allowing him to finish the battle with a light swipe from at the smaller opponent's side. With the battle finished, the two backed off and went to their starting positions, though the smaller one seemed less energetic in the process.

The taller one removed his mask, revealing an elderly face fixed in a stern expression, as befit any teacher. "Cody, what is wrong?"

The smaller opponent removed his mask, revealing Cody's face from one year ago. Despite his difference in age, he looked the same as the real Cody. The only real difference between the two was in their way of acting. The real Cody was silent, attentive, and emotionless as he watched the situation unfold. The other Cody was a bit more emotional and, as Cody put it, 'animated'.

"Grandpa, why isn't dad home yet? He promised he'd be home early tonight since you were visiting."

Grandpa Hida shrugged. "He's a policeman, Cody. Sometimes they are forced to work late." When Cody's eyes became sad like a puppy dog's, Grandpa walked up to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I am sure he will be home soon."

Cody looked up at his grandfather hopefully. "Really?"

"Of course," the old man answered with a smile. "He'll be home any minute." He put on his helmet and took a few steps back. "Until then, let's see if you're a match for old grandpa."

Cody giggled happily and put his own helmet back on. "I'll win this time! Just you watch!" Assuming the appropriate stance, he went at his grandfather with his stick, showing his childish exuberance, as well as the lack of discipline that came with it- something Cody never imagined himself having. As the scene continued to play out, Cody's mother came up to the door, looking in with eyes dampened by tears. Both Cody and Grandpa looked at her with shock. Grandpa went over to where she stood, and she whispered a few words to him. Grandpa looked at her eyes, and she began to weep once again. Young Cody just stood at the end of the kendo mat, wondering what was wrong with his mother.

"Mommy?" he asked as he walked over. "Why are you crying?"

Mrs. Hida looked down at her son and held his innocent little face as she wept. "I'm sorry Cody...I'm so sorry." As this tearful scene continued on, the image faded away, leaving the real Cody alone in the dark, lost in his own memories of the past.

_That was the night father was killed._ Cody's face remained stone cold, but the rest of him was trembling. At the corners of his intense brown eyes, drops of tears started to form, but didn't quite fall. _That was the night I left my childhood behind._

The darkness around him formed into a new environment- the bedroom where he's slept his entire life. It was here that his heart was allowed to be free- at least, that was true before Upamon became a permanent roommate. Cody was always closed and serious, and even though he was his friend, Upamon was still not privy to certain things- Cody's innermost thoughts and feelings. It was here in Cody's bedroom where he let those feelings go, when he was younger.

In the current image, young Cody lay in his bed crying into his pillow. After hearing the news concerning his father's death in the line of duty, he ran to his room and immediately dived into bed. Despite the mother's wish to be there with him, Grandfather Hida convinced her that letting the boy sort out his feelings on his own for a while would be for the better. Besides, in the mother's current state, there wasn't much she could do to cheer him up.

Cody's weeping momentarily stopped as his thoughts changed from sadness to anger. In all cases of handling the death of a loved one, there was a predictable set of stages that occurred. One such step was anger- unreasoning anger. For young Cody, this anger wasn't directed at the ones who killed his father. It was directed at his father- the man he had always thought was invincible and perfect. Like any other child his age, his father was his hero.

"Why, daddy? Why?" Cody beat his pillow mercilessly, repeating these words all through the night, until finally he fell asleep.

_I couldn't understand. I hated him for not being perfect like I thought he was. My father had failed in my eyes. That's the day I lost my childish, happy voice. I became determined and focused in everything I did, because it would help me forget. Of course...I couldn't live without feeling and still be_ _a child._

The scene faded to a new place- a little park where lots of little children played on the swings or in the sand. Older kids played on the nearby basketball court, while those in between played a dodgeball game with dozens of participants. Cody walked to the dodgeball area, again noticing that he was apparently invisible to everyone there. Find a spot where he could watch the scene easily, Cody waited for something to happen.

Cody happened to glance to a section of the park where a little child was by himself. He looked closer, and noticing his wardrobe and overall disposition Cody immediately realized who it was- himself. At the moment, the other Cody was next to a tulip tree, filled with pink bulbs that waved lightly in the spring breeze. He was training in his kendo using a wooden stick, and apparently ignoring everything else going on around him. He didn't notice the dodgeball as it rolled to a halt about three feet away from his place. A young girl a few years older than him ran over to pick up the ball, and noticed Cody by himself.

"Hi!" she said with a pearly-white smile. Cody glanced up at her and nodded once before returning to his training. The girl walked over to where he was and tapped him on the shoulder when she saw an opening. He looked at her again, and she said, "Do you want to play with us?"

"No thank you," he said in his typical whisper-for-a-voice. He returned to his training, expecting the girl to go away.

"Come on Yolei!" shouted one of the other kids in the dodgeball game. "Are you coming?!"

Yolei threw the ball back to the others, answering "Play without me, okay!" The other kid shrugged and picked up the ball to continue their game, while Yolei sat under the tree next to Cody, watching him swing his kendo stick methodically.

Cody glanced over at her. "Is there something you want?"

"What are you doing?" she asked innocently.

"Kendo," he answered simply, doing a particularly powerful swing at that moment.

"Oh..." she said. Young Cody was sure she didn't understand what Kendo was, but he didn't care anyway. He continued to train and tried to ignore her at the same time.

"What's your name?" she asked after a period of silence.

"Cody."

"Cody," she repeated to herself. "That's a nice name." Another swing with considerable force behind it. _*Whoosh* _

"Don't you ever get tired of this?"

"Why do you ask?" he said in a way that lacked actual curiosity.

"Whenever I see you around our building, you're always swinging that stick around or walking by yourself. Don't you ever want to play?"

"No." _*Whoosh*_

"Really? You mean you don't like playing with your friends?"

"I don't have any friends." _*Whoosh*_

Yolei looked at Cody sadly. "Oh... I'm sorry."

_*Whoosh*... *WhooshWhooshWhoosh!*_ After all this up-tempo training, young Cody was starting to sweat and pant. Feeling his fatigue catch up with him, Cody gathered his stuff up and headed home.

"Wait, Cody!" said Yolei. Cody halted, but didn't turn around. He could hear Yolei shuffling her feet around. "Do you...um..."

Cody looked over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Do you...want to come to my birthday party?"

Cody thought about it for a moment, then an old, familiar pain filled his chest near his heart. "I can't."

"Please?" Yolei pleaded. "It'll be fun, and you'll get to meet lots of people."

"I don't want to meet lots of people! I just want to be left alone!" Cody ran off towards his house, leaving Yolei behind to wonder what brought that outburst on.

The real Cody watched this all silently. _My first meeting with Yolei. Heh...friendly enough I guess. I'll give her points for trying though. Of course... I underestimated how pushy Yolei could be._

****

==New Scene: Hida Residence==

_*DingDong*_

"Cody, could you answer that please?" asked Cody's mom. "That should be the girl repairing the computer."

"Okay mom," answered Cody. He went to the front door and opened it. Cody was surprised (and annoyed) to see the girl from the park standing there. She smiled when she saw who it was.

"Hi there Cody," she said with a smile. "Remember me?"

"Come in," he said simply. "The computer is this way." Cody led her down the hall to the room where the Hida computer was. Yolei went to the computer and sat in the chair and got to work. Cody headed for the door, but Yolei stopped him with a question.

"So why don't you want to make friends?" she asked.

Cody thought of a million mean things he could say, but lately his grandfather had been reinforcing the idea of proper manners. So instead, Cody answered "Friends are supposed to understand you...but nobody understands me."

Yolei seemed surprised at Cody's words. "...How old are you?"

"Seven."

"Whoa...I've never heard a seven year old say something like that."

"That's because there aren't any seven year olds around here like me. Hence, why I have no friends. Now, if you're done with your questions, I'll return to my book." Cody headed towards the door, but again something Yolei said stopped him in his tracks.

"Do you act this way because of your father?"

Cody turned around angrily. "What did you say?!"

"When I mentioned to my mom that I was coming to fix your computer, she was reminded of your father's death a few years ago. She said he was a good policeman."

Cody felt a pressure build up in his chest but unlike the other times in his past, nothing happened. He simply trembled a bit, and looked at the ground as he tried to remember what his father was like. Even though it had only been a few years since then, he had forgotten much- most of it on purpose, because being reminded of him brought back to much pain. Now, all he had left were faint glimpses.

"...Sorry. I do that sometimes."

Cody looked at her. "Do what?"

"I say things before I think, and I end up hurting people's feelings," she replied. "Forget what I said." Yolei returned to typing on the computer and trying to debug it, while Cody stood by in thought.

"...You're right."

Yolei glanced over at the boy. "Huh?"

Cody trembled slightly. "I...nevermind. I'll go now."

"Wait!" Yolei said quickly. "Cody, don't go!"

Cody turned around. "Why?"

"Tell me what you were going to say. Please?"

The boy shook his head. "No, forget it. It's not important."

"Yes it is! You were about to tell me why you don't want to have friends."

"It doesn't matter why I have friends. Friends aren't important."

"What?!" exclaimed Yolei. "Friends are the most important thing in the world! They're the people you can share your thoughts and feelings with."

"I wouldn't know," said Cody solemnly. "I have no feelings to share."

"...Because of what happened with your father?" she said, but quickly regretted that. "Oh, wait, I didn't mean that!"

"No, you're right. It _is_ because of my father, but I can't change that now."

"Sure you can Cody. I can tell you have feelings."

"No I don't," he replied stubbornly.

"Yes you do! Everybody has feelings! I can tell you're a sweet, kind, and dependable kid."

Cody looked at her with surprise. "What?"

"You don't think so?"

"Well, I...uh...I don't know."

Yolei smiled at Cody's awkwardness. "Look, I know you can be a great friend. I bet you're the kind of guy who'd never let anybody down, huh?"

Cody shrugged. "I guess..."

Yolei punched a few more keys on the keyboard, and stood up to leave. "There you go. The computer should be fine now."

"Oh, thanks." Cody went to the counter to pick up the money his mother wanted to pay, and held it to Yolei. "Here you go."

Yolei shook her head. "Keep it. If you promise to be my friend, I'll do my services for free."

Cody looked at the money, then shrugged and held it out again. "Here you go."

Yolei giggled. "Let me put it this way. I don't want the money. Listening to you talk was payment enough."

"Uh...are you sure?"

Yolei thought for a moment. "Hmm...actually, I'll make you a deal. If you smile for me, then I'll fix your computer whenever you want."

"Smile for you?"

Yolei smiled. "Yeah, like this. Show me what you look like when you're happy."

"...Happy?"

"Sure. Kids should be happy! Show me your smile, and I'll be satisfied."

Cody shrugged, and decided that if he could save his mom some money by just smiling, he could stand it. Cody focused his thoughts like he did when he was preparing for Kendo, but the act of smiling after so long was more a challenge than any Kendo fight. The edge of his lips twitched and curled, but didn't quite make it; he didn't have anything to be happy about. Yolei watched intently, and neither her nor Cody noticed that Ms. Hida had come into the room to watch. The boy focused everything he had, and tried his best to smile, but nothing happened. This only made him angrier.

"Cody, just relax," said Yolei. "You don't _try_ to smile; you think of something that makes you happy or makes you laugh."

"I don't have anything to be happy about."

"Sure you do! You have a wonderful family, and the cutest girl in town for a friend," she said jokingly.

Cody's lips curled into a smile as the stupid humor seeped into his cold exterior. When Yolei saw his smile, she cheered happily. "I knew you weren't all Mr. Serious." As the two continued to talk, Ms. Hida started to weep happily in the background as she saw her only son smile for the first time in over a year. Outside in the real world, the real Cody started to smile as well as the image faded away into blackness.

**Cody...**

"Gennai! I was starting to worry that you were _never_ going to tell me what I had to do! Hurry up and tell me how to save Patamon!"

**You already have, Cody. You have proven yourself to me.**

Cody looked confused, and actually unsatisfied as well. "That's it?"

**Something wrong?**

"Well...I thought these 'tests' would have a little more to them."

**Your test had little to it, because aside from your lack of personality, you're fairly well suited for your role as the child of Knowledge and Reliability. Don't worry though...even though your mission is complete, there is something else you can do. As the child of Reliability, saving your friends is a top priority. Soon, you may have to save Davis from himself. **

"What?!"

****

"WHAT?!"

**_Hmm...so Gennai cheated. He said if he figured out the tests, he wouldn't tell._**

"What's this all about?!" yelled Davis.

**_You'll find out-_**

"No! No more of this 'you'll find out' stuff! Tell me now! I don't care what it is, just tell me!" As they were speaking, Cody disappeared from the blackness and presumably returned to the cabin where the others were waiting.

**_There's no point in you knowing it now, since you already know what's going to happen._**

Davis blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

**_This._** Davis cried out in pain as flashes of images and words shot through his head.

Flash 

__

Kari glanced down at her D-terminal. "Since Davis isn't here, I have to."

Cody, Ken, and Yolei stepped back while TK moved closer to the girl. "Okay Kari...be careful," said TK just before he touched her lips gently with his own. Kari accepted the kiss and added her own emotions to it.

Eventually they broke the kiss. "I'll be waiting for you," said TK softly.

"I'll be with you soon," she answered just as quietly. TK finally joined the others, while Kari turned and knelt next to the strange shimmering pool. As the others watched intently, Kari extended her hand ever so slowly towards the opaque liquid.

The instant Kari touched the liquid, she cried out in pain. A horrible, disgusting noise of flesh being burned filled the air, and Kari seemed to be the source. Or rather...her hand seemed to be the source.

"It's acid!" cried Ken as the kids all ran forward to try and aid her.

"Help me!!" she cried just as she was seemingly pulled into the fluid. TK and the others gasped in total shock at the sight. TK was about to jump in, but Ken and Yolei held him back as best they could.

"Kari!!" he cried.

The girl's hand poked up one last instant, though most of it was burned and melted beyond recognition. Soon, her hand once again sank down into the murky acid, disappearing with one last bubble of air from what was left of her lungs.

__

Flash

"No!!!" cried Davis as the torturous images went through his brain again.

**_Yes...this is the future, my young friend. A future that you must decide on._**

"What do you mean?!"

**_Whoever touches that pool will die. You must decide whether the girl who betrays you is worth sacrificing yourself for._**

"Betrays me?"

**_Yeeees,_** the voice said, seemingly pleased by Davis' discomfort. **_As I said before, you haven't seen the best part- TK and Kari will be doing their test together, just for you._** The voice started to chuckle, while Davis growled angrily- but was he growling at the voice, or at TK? Only he knew.


	5. Hope's Light, Part 1: Kari's Test

==2:00 PM== ****

==2:00 PM==

TK strolled slowly around the room, looking at the old pictures that hung on the walls. Even though they were only three years old, some of the events in the pictures felt like they had happened ages ago. Looking at his younger self in the photos, TK started to feel nostalgic for his youth. As the young man wondered where he left that old helmet of his, he was surprised by a gentle tap on the shoulder, which made him jump.

"Whoa, sorry TK," said his long-time friend. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay Kari," he said as he turned and leaned his back against the wall.

"What were you thinking about?" Kari asked as she glanced at the pictures behind him.

"Oh, nothing really. Just...remembering, I guess."

"Oh..."

"How 'bout you?"

Kari leaned on the wall with her shoulder, arms crossed over her chest. "Nothing. I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"The test. The others came back from their tests and didn't say a word about them; Yolei was actually cut. It makes me nervous. I hope I don't fail this."

TK smiled. "You won't. You're great at tests, remember? You have a 4.0 grade point average and you're on the honor roll." Kari didn't laugh.

"I know the others can do stuff by themselves. I just don't think I can do the same thing. I'm not strong like my brother, or Davis, or you."

"You'll do just fine," TK assured her. "Everybody's going to show Gennai that we're worthy of being digidestined."

Kari sighed sadly. "I hope so."

"Hope's my middle name," TK said with a smile. "Just don't give up hope, and you'll be alright. I promise."

Kari eventually smiled back. "...Thanks TK."

"Don't mention it."

**I guess some things never change.** TK and Kari both looked at the TV monitor warily.

"Then again, some things change when you least expect them," said TK dryly.

**Still unsure of why I'm doing this, eh TK?**

"You could say that," the boy answered evenly.

**I know it's strange, but it's necessary. It's important that we know just how strong your feelings and special traits are. Just do everything like you would normally do, and do your best. I'm sure you guys will turn out fine.**

"So when does the next test start?" asked Cody from the couch in the room's center, where Ken and Yolei were taking care of the food for the recently rehatched digimon.

**TK and Kari's test starts now.**

"We're taking our test together?" asked Kari curiously.

**Yes. Light and Hope are one unified force, and thus must be as one. Just as Love and Sincerity were tested together, and Knowledge and Reliability were, so to must Light and Hope.**

"Now you won't have to do this alone Kari. I'll be there with you," said TK. Kari smiled lightly.

Cody leaned over to Yolei and whispered, (Somehow I knew they would end up together for this testing stuff.)

(How _did_ you know?)

(Something tells me this stuff isn't really "testing". We've yet to do anything challenging or that anything requires any real thought. All they've really done is show us what's inside us.)

(I don't know...you might be right, but why would they do that? What would the point be in doing that?)

Ken leaned over and joined their little pow wow. (I think Cody's right. It seems that these trips into our past have some ulterior motive. If Gennai is really a close affiliate of the digidestined, he would have no need for this, and anyone working with him probably wouldn't either. Someone else must be trying to learn something about us.)

(But why?) asked Yolei. (Who would be doing that, and why?)

(Even if it's true, then why would they take Davis away? It just doesn't make sense...)

**Are you ready Kari? TK?** Gennai's voice interrupted the three kids' conversation, and they turned to watch the two other children take hold of their D3's and hold them up to the TV monitor.

"Ready Gennai," TK answered.

"Me too," added Kari.

As the digiport opened and surrounded the two, Gennai made one final warning. **Be careful you two. Your choices could very well change your lives forever. Listen to your heart, and make sure you can live with your choices.**

[The digiport sequence commences...]

Darkness, everywhere. It was as if all the light in the universe had suddenly snuffed out, like a candle in a strong breeze. All that was left, was the sound of their thoughts that echoed through the void around them.

_TK?_

_Kari, are you okay?_

_I can't see you..._

_Where are you?_

_I don't know. There's nothing around me._

_Where are we?_ _What happened to all the light?_

_TK...it's so cold here._

_Don't worry Kari. We'll be all right, as long as we stay together._

Slowly, two lights formed in the darkness. One was a bright pink, and the other was neon green. Both dimmed and brightened periodically like two beating hearts, and were easily visible to both children.

_Kari, is that you?_

_TK, what's happening? We're...glowing!_

The green light moved closer to the pink light, until finally the two could see each other. _It must be our crests- or what's left of them, anyway._

_So what do we do now, TK? There's nothing here._

Slowly, the darkness around them parted, revealing a familiar setting- a gray, empty beach with a steady tide and a light breeze. The glows around the two children remained constant, despite the change in the environment; they were the only non-gray things in sight. Finally, all the blackness from before was gone.

"The beach..." said Kari softly. "Not here again...please, not again."

"Don't worry Kari," said TK just as softly. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"But...what if we get separated?" she asked fearfully.

TK slowly took hold of Kari's hand, making her look at him in surprise. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen." When he saw Kari's expression, TK started to blush shyly, and started to let go of her hand. "Sorry, I got a little carried away..."

Kari clenched his hand tightly, preventing him from letting go. "Whatever happens, don't let me go TK." The boy saw just how afraid of this place Kari really was. She was trembling with fear, and on the verge of crying. "I don't want to be left here alone..."

TK was stunned for a moment, but eventually he nodded to her. "I won't leave you alone Kari. I promise."

_"Such touching words. Pity you won't be able to keep your promise."_

"Whose that?" The two kids looked around confused.

_"Welcome back, Kari,"_ continued the strange voice. _"I've been waiting for you."_

Kari started to tremble again. "No...it's you. The one who was trying to take me."

_"I am the master of the Scubamon, and lord of the Dark Ocean. Soon, you too will call me master."_

"No she won't!" TK yelled. "You can't have her!"

_"Heh heh heh. You don't have a say in the matter, my young friend. I am a digimon unlike any other, and you are just a human."_

TK looked at his still glowing body, then back out to the ocean, where the voice seemed to be coming from. "Patamon and Gatomon may not be here, but we can still fight you! We've fought digimon like you before, and we've won with the power inside us!"

"_Perhaps that was true when you had those "crests" of yours, but without them or your digimon, you are nothing to me."_

TK pulled out his digivice. "I don't care how powerful you think you are, you aren't getting Kari! Run Kari!" TK ran away from the beach, dragging Kari until she got out of her shocked state. Before the two could escape, a gigantic tentacle approached them and tried to encircle Kari. Thinking quickly, TK pushed her out of the way and was quickly ensnared by the giant limb.

"TK!" Kari cried. TK struggled to escape, but was unable to fight the strength of the powerful digimon. The tentacle quickly dragged him into the water, leaving a shaken Kari at the upper side of the beach.

"No...T-K!!" she cried at the top of her lungs.

"_Now you are all alone, my child. Surrender yourself now or you die with this insect!"_ There was a giant splash of water offshore, and a large tentacle holding TK appeared. After being dragged around underwater, he wasn't looking too spry, and he had lost his treasured hat. Kari was paralyzed with fear and indecision. She was alone.

"_Now...choose. Freedom, or death?"_

"Kari, don't give up!" TK cried.

Kari fell to her knees once again. "I...I can't..."

"_Very well. If you're that adamant about it, I can simply kill you both."_ The massive tentacle tensed up, and the boy screamed in great pain as he was slowly crushed.

"Don't!" she cried. Instantly, the tentacle stopped crushing him, and he slumped into half-consciousness. "I...I'll choose."

"_As you wish. Make your choice."_

"Kari...don't," said TK weakly as he gasped for breath. "Don't give yourself up." The tentacle squeezed tightly again, making TK scream loudly and preventing him from speaking to Kari further. Kari bordered on crying as she saw the pain TK was being put through. She struggled to remain strong though, like her brother would. She had to think of a way to save him. Without Gatomon though...that seemed impossible.

"_I am quickly losing my patience. You will decide now."_

"If...if you let him go...I will be your slave like you want. I'll serve you willingly."

"Kari, no!" cried TK. This time, a charge like an electric eel shot through the giant tentacle, stunning TK into unconsciousness.

_"How do I know you will keep your word?"_

"I know that if I don't, you will kill my friend. That's something I will never let happen. I... I care about him too much."

_"That you do."_ The entity seemed to think about Kari's proposal, and finally answered. _"Very well. I will spare this child's life, in exchange for your eternal servitude."_

"...Yes."

_"Yes, what?"_

Kari slowly crawled into a submissive position. "Yes...master."

_"Good. It is done."_ The monster dropped TK's limp body on the sand before her, and returned its tentacle to the water. Kari rushed over to him and lay his head on her lap, while TK coughed and slowly regained his wits.

"TK...you're alright," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Kari, why did you do that?" he asked weakly but angrily. "You can't throw away your life for me."

"Why not? You would do it for me." TK's eyes started to well up with tears, while Kari struggled to remain strong. She would need to learn how to hold her pain inside if she was to serve this monster in the deep blue sea.

"Kari...I can't let you do this. Please, let him take me instead." He sat up and hugged her tightly. "Please..."

_"Give it up, boy. She has made her promise, now she will live with it."_ A shadowy, red-eyed humanoid crawled from the water and waited several yards from the two children. _"Come, child."_

"Just give me a little time, please," Kari said. "I have to say goodbye...master." The Scubamon remained still, apparently unconcerned. Since the undersea master made no comments to the negative, Kari guessed she had time for a quick goodbye. Turning back to TK, she resumed the deep hug the two were sharing. "TK..."

"Kari, I'll find a way to free you," said TK with determination. "I'll never give up hope."

"I...I'm just glad I could finally show you just how much I care about you." Kari lifted her head from TK's shoulder and kissed his cheek lightly as she started to weep. "Oh TK...I'm going to miss you so much."

"Don't say that! This isn't the end! We'll see each other again, Kari!"

Kari stood up and slowly walked over to where the Scubamon was waiting. The digimon menacingly looked at TK, making sure he didn't try anything. Despite his willingness to do so, TK knew he couldn't do anything useful against a digimon like that. Looking at her friend for probably the last time, Kari tried to put on her bravest smile.

"Goodbye...TK." She turned around, and with the Scubamon as her guide, the girl was lead into the murky waters, leaving TK by himself on the dark beach.

"KA-RI !!!"

****

"Hey, what the hell was that?!!"

**_Ooh...temper, temper. Somebody has a potty mouth._**

"I thought you said you meant us no harm?! What just happened?!"

**_It's all part of the test, my friend. You just witnessed Kari and TK's worst fear, brought to life._**

"...What?"

**_Their worst fear. As I said before, these "tests" are nothing more than creations of each child's subconscious mind. You have seen all of their tests. You know their worst fears, and their innermost desires._**

Davis focused his eyes shrewdly. "You're trying to tell me something, aren't you."

**_You still don't get it do you?_**

"Obviously not."

**_All this time, you've seen and heard the thoughts and feelings of the other digidestined. You've been shown what it is that makes them the way they are. If you were a decent leader, you would have already known about this, but it turns out even spoon-feeding it to you isn't enough._**

Comprehension slowly dawned on Davis, though he was already angry by now. "You say you're showing me this because I'm a bad leader?!"

**_All leaders must know those under their leadership inside and out. Otherwise they can't keep their morale high, or bring out the best in them. You have been held responsible for the failures of the digidestined team, since you are supposed to be their leader. Gennai had hoped that showing you the truth about your friends would help you, but now I know that can't happen. You're as dense as I believed you to be._**

Davis growled angrily and shouted into the darkness, "Shut up!!"

**_You know it's the truth, Davis. There's no use getting angry with me. It only shows that I was right._**

"Let me out of here!" he yelled, jumping around hastily as he searched for a way out. "Let me out of here now!!"

**_What's wrong, Davis? No "creative" comeback? Ha ha ha ha..._**

"Let me out of here!! LET ME-"

*Flash* THOOM *Flash*

Then, the spotlight went out.


	6. Hope's Light, Part 2: TK's Test

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

"They've been gone for a while," said Yolei calmly.

"There's nothing to worry about," replied Cody.

"I'm not worried, I just was wondering why they've been gone for so long."

"You sound worried to me," the boy added.

"Well, I'm not," she said with slight annoyance. "TK and Kari are fine." Cody shrugged lightly but didn't reply.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

Ken looked up to see what time it was. "Hmm...3:00. They _have_ been gone a long time," he said, as if he hadn't realized it until now.

"They're alright!" said Yolei again, but with a little more force.

"I know," Ken replied calmly. "I'm just...wondering what they're doing."

Yolei started drumming her fingers on the arm of her chair and added softly, "Me too." Cody and Ken glanced at each other, and each saw their feeling mirrored in the other- worry. The digimon- Patamon, Hawkmon and Wormmon- looked at the kids with concern before looking at each other. The three digimon moved off quietly to a place by themselves and spoke amongst themselves.

(I know we're not supposed to interfere, but this is crazy,) whispered Patamon. (I'm worried about TK. They shouldn't have been gone this long.)

(What _can_ we do?) asked Wormmon. (If we go, Gennai might turn us into eggs again... or worse.)

(You're right. Besides, Gennai seems to have some control over the gate,) added Hawkmon. (We may not be able to get to them.)

(There's gotta be _something_ we can do. But what...)

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

(What if one of them used the D3 to try and contact TK and Kari?) suggested Wormmon. (Or maybe even Davis.)

(Would it work?)

(Why wouldn't it?)

(Gennai might be able to block it,) said Patamon.

(Wait a minute, why don't we just _ask_ Gennai? There's no reason why he wouldn't tell us what's going on.)

(Hey, good idea Hawkmon. Let's do that.) The three digimon nodded and walked-or crawled in Wormmon's case- to the T.V. screen where Gennai communicated with the Digidestined.

"Hey Gennai, could we ask you something?" asked Hawkmon. He waited for a while, but no answer came. "...Gennai? Hello?" The bird digimon hopped up and knocked on the screen. "You in there?"

"What're you doing Hawkmon?" asked Yolei when the kids noticed what the digimon were doing.

"We're trying to ask Gennai about TK and Kari," answered Patamon, "but Gennai's not home."

"He must not be connected right now," said Ken. "Guess he really meant what he said about not having good connections."

"Hmm...then maybe we can use the gate now," wondered Patamon.

"What?"

Patamon and the digimon hopped to the table in the middle of the living room. "We have to try to use the gate! We've gotta see what happened to TK and Kari!"

"Are you crazy Patamon?!" said Yolei. "You wanna cheat on this?!"

"I don't care about the stupid test," said Patamon. "If TK's hurt, I want to be there to help him!"

"But Patamon, if you do this TK might not be a Digidestined anymore, and you might be taken away!" Yolei argued. "What if TK's not hurt, and you end up getting him disqualified?! Are you willing to risk that?"

"I...*sigh*...I...I don't want to make TK lose," Patamon replied. Sadly he floated to the ground once again where he was resting before. "I guess you're right."

Yolei nodded. "I know it's tough, but don't worry. TK and Kari are fine. As long as they're together, nothing'll go wrong."

Patamon nodded slowly. "...Right."

_Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock..._

****

It all happened so fast. What was he supposed to do? After that Scubamon took her away, his mind went blank. He didn't know what to do to save her. He had told her that everything would be alright, but it was anything but alright. How had everything turned out so badly? Why couldn't he protect her? Kari was trapped at the bottom of the ocean, and it was all his fault.

TK buried his face in his folded arms, which rested on his bent knees. No matter how hard he tried to keep his focus, he kept seeing Kari's face in his mind's eye. Her tear-streaked face, pleading not to let her go. Her soft smile as _he_ pleaded with _her_ not to go. Neither plea had been met, and now things were as bad as they could get, and TK couldn't do anything about it.

No! There had to be something he could do! Thinking otherwise was just giving up, and he told Kari he would never give up. He may have failed in his last promise, but this was one promise that the young Takaishi intended to keep- no matter what the cost. Pushing all the painful emotions in his mind away, TK focused intensely on the matter at hand.

He could try swimming, he thought. That was the simplest and most obvious answer, but it came with equally simple problems. The Lord of the Deep would no doubt have a deep lair, which TK was sure was deep enough that he would run out of air long before he reached it. The path there was also bound to be guarded by Scubamon, and whatever other denizens the monstrous digimon controlled. Without a digimon companion, TK wasn't much of a threat. He'd be sharkfood within seconds.

TK growled in annoyance and looked out to the dark ocean before him. There had to be something he could do! He was a digidestined, and digidestined were more than just children with digimon! Even without Patamon at his side, TK was still TK. There had to be something that TK could do.

An idea popped into the boy's head. Perhaps there was a digimon who would be willing to help him. Yeah, right. What were the odds of that happening in a place like this? Anything that was here was definitely not on his side.

TK sighed heavily. "What am I going to do?"

Near the spot where TK sat, something out of the ordinary washed up on shore. TK happened to look up, and when he did he saw something he hadn't expected- a fresh, round digiegg.

_How did that get here?_ TK mused. He slowly stood up, never taking his eyes from the egg, and cautiously approached the mysterious object. As he got closer, he felt some strange feeling wash over him- a feeling of deja vu. As far as TK knew, he had never seen this egg before, but something about it felt familiar. Unsure of what to make of it, but willing to accept the risk of finding out about it, the boy bent his knees and extended his hands towards the egg. He was soon on his knees, but his hands hovered away from the egg.

TK swallowed a lump in his throat, and finally touched the egg. As he expected, his hands glowed with the same energy that commonly came from his digivice. The egg became pure light, and within seconds it had metamorphosized into a brown whicker basket with a soft cushion inside, in addition to a small digimon- a digimon that TK didn't recognize.

"...Who are you?" he asked. Before the digimon could answer, it started to glow yet again. TK quickly moved his hands away and shielded his eyes from the light. When the glow disappeared and TK could see again, he saw a much more familiar digimon.

"Recognize me now, TK?" said Upamon happily. The in-training digimon looked around and took note of their surroundings, and instantly became discomforted. "Where's Cody?! How'd I get here?"

"I can explain, Upamon," TK replied. "I'm glad you're here...but _why_ are you here? You should have appeared at Gennai's house with the others."

"What's going on TK?" the confused digimon asked.

TK suddenly got an idea. "Upamon! Can you digivolve to Submarimon?"

"What? Why?"

"Just tell me!" said TK forcefully. "Kari is in trouble, and we have to go underwater to rescue her. I really need you to digivolve to Submarimon."

"Eh...I don't think I can without Cody. I need him and the armor digiegg if I'm going to digivolve."

TK groaned. "Can't you do it without him?! I can't contact the others!"

Upamon hopped back a few steps. "I'm sorry TK, but I can't!"

TK angrily slammed his fist into the ground once, making a deep handprint in the wet sand where he and Upamon were. The digimon quickly digivolved into Armadillomon, completing his growth from the egg to his normal form. Rather than be happy for him, TK stood up and tried to figure out a way to get Armadillomon to digivolve into Submarimon without Cody. That seemed as hard a proposition as TK rescuing Kari from the undersea master on his own.

"There's got to be a way," wondered TK. "If you can't digivolve into Submarimon, then there'll be no way to rescue Kari."

"TK, I don't have any idea what you're talking about," Armadillomon said. "Could you _please_ explain what's going on?"

TK slowly turned around, and nodded. "Fine. I'll explain everything as quickly as I can." With that said, TK relayed the recent events with Gennai, and his "tests" of the childrens' worthiness of being digidestined. He then explained what had happened with Kari and the digimon from the sea. Armadillomon listened to everything he had to say, and even mirrored most of the boy's emotions regarding the whole thing. In the end, Armadillomon was almost as worried and desperate as TK was.

"So you see," continued TK, "I really need Submarimon." TK walked to where Armadillomon stood, head bowed in thought. "I need your help. You're my only hope."

The digimon looked up sadly at TK. "I'm sorry...but I can't. I don't have it in me."

Rather than be angry as before, TK simply sat down next to Armadillomon. The digimon watched him warily, but the boy did nothing threatening. He simply stared out into the deep, dark ocean.

"Let me tell you a quick story," said TK. Armadillomon nodded, and the boy started narrating. "About eight years ago, I lived in Heighton View Terrace with my brother Matt. All the other original digidestined did too, but at the time we didn't know a thing about digimon. That is...until that day."

"That day?"

"The day two digimon appeared and battled right in front of us. It was the first time any of us had seen a digimon, and it was perhaps the single most important moment in our lives."

"What happened?" Armadillomon asked wonderously.

"Tai and Kari were out in the street with a weird looking Agumon. At first they were trying to keep this digimon under control; I don't quite remember all the details, because I was only three at the time. Soon, the second digimon- a giant Parrotmon- appeared from the sky and started a fight. At first it looked like the Agumon was doomed, but amazingly he digivolved into Greymon."

"How'd he do that?"

"As far as I know, he was trying to protect Tai and Kari. Even though they were kids, and they didn't have digivices, D-3's, or anything like that, the digimon could digivolve. It digivolved because it wanted to." TK gave a sideways glance to Armadillomon. "I know you can do it too. I know that you're strong enough to digivolve without the armor of Reliability."

Armadillomon wasn't as confident as TK was in his abilities. "Do you really think so?"

TK nodded. "I know so. Otherwise, there's no way to save Kari."

Armadillomon thought of TK's story, and thought of the trouble Kari was in. He looked at TK's determined eyes, and thought of what Cody would do in a situation like this. He definitely knew what Cody would do in this situation.

"Okay! I'll try my best," Armadillomon said finally.

TK nodded. "Then let's go!" TK stepped back a few steps, and Armadillomon set about doing something that up until now he thought was impossible. But if some old Agumon could do it, then so can he! Armadillomon grunted and strained as he tried to digivolve to the familiar shape of Submarimon. Of course, usually he had the armor digiegg of Reliability to give him support. Trying to digivolve without it was like trying to push a boulder up a hill that normally took five people to move. Compounded with the fact that he hadn't eaten anything since he had hatched, it would take a miracle for this to work.

"Come on Armadillomon," said TK supportively. "You can do it! Just pretend Cody was here."

Pretend Cody was here; sounded simple enough. He closed his eyes and pictured the small boy that was his partner. His short, brown hair...his calm, green eyes...his simple light-colored tunic and brown pants...and his quiet, even voice. Armadillomon even imagined him cheering him on like TK was at that moment. _Come on Armadillomon! Let's go! You can do it!_

TK watched hopefully, and noticed that the rookie was actually starting to glow. As quickly as the light appeared however, it disappeared as he momentarily faltered. Armadillomon didn't give up however. He could be as determined and stubborn as Cody any day. Now that his mind was set on it, he wouldn't stop trying until he succeeded, or until he passed out.

Armadillomon was amazed to find that _something_ was happening. It didn't feel normal in any sense of the word, but he was actually doing it!

"You're doing it Armadillomon!" cried TK. "You're doing it!!"

"Armadillomon, armor digivolve to...SUBMARIMON, Guardian of the Sea!" The transformation finished with a flash of light, and the digimon hopped into the water with a quick reflex of his fins.

"Yes!!" cheered TK. "All right!!"

"Anyone need a ride?" Submarimon said as he opened his hatch. "Hop in, TK." The boy ran up to the digimon and climbed into the hatch, which shut above him. TK tried to get into a comfortable position, but his height made it quite cramped. Plus there was the simple fact that TK had no idea how to use the controls inside the digimon.

"Uh, Submarimon?" asked TK as the digimon submerged and made a beeline for the deeper waters. "You realize I don't know what I'm doing, right?"

"Don't sweat it. If Cody can do it, so can you." Submarimon swam through the waters, though something seemed to be wrong. The digimon was bobbing left and right seemingly at random, as if something was wrong with his balance. Underwater that may not seem to be a big deal, but a fish that can't swim in a straight line is as good as dead- especially when that fish has to fight.

"Are you okay Submarimon?" TK asked.

"Not really," the digimon answered. "You know that feeling you get when you stand up to fast?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I have that feeling, and it won't go away." Submarimon faltered again, nearly crashing into a rockface along the seafloor. He managed to swerve out of the way just in time, but not without doing a 360 spin through several patches of coral that scratched the metallic hide of the digimon mercilessly. The damage was mostly cosmetic, but still gave Submarimon some discomfort- like a scratch on a child's knee.

"I guess you spent so much energy digivolving that you're feeling a little light-headed," suggested TK. "I'm sorry. This might not have been such a good idea."

"It doesn't matter. I can still fight," Submarimon assured him. "I should be okay by the time we reach the undersea lord's domain."

TK grimly watched the waters ahead of them. "I hope so."

****

Kari felt like she had fallen into a Star Wars movie. Around her neck was a thick, metal chain that permitted her to breath underwater and also linked to her wrists and ankles with smaller chains. All together, her movement was restricted by the weight of the chains themselves, as well as the fact that she was effectively on a leash controlled by one of the sealord's smaller tentacles. She was sitting at the base of a gigantic throne roughly carved from an undersea mount, where the central mass of the undersea lord lay. Dozens of gigantic tentacles, and several dozen smaller tendrils, hung loosely from the seat, occasionally moving seemingly of their own accord. For the past few hours, he had been issuing orders to various digimon slaves and organizing something that Kari wasn't interested in. All she was concerned with was TK and her friends.

_"You still cling to hope,"_ said the monstrous digimon.

"..."

_"You will learn to forget hope. All slaves do."_

"I won't," Kari said simply. "I won't, and you can't make me."

_"You may think that because you're the child of Light, you are special. To me, you are just another slave. You will forget just like all the others."_

Kari couldn't reply. She simply stared off into the sea ahead of her, and softly muttered. "Never."

"Master!" shouted a Scubamon that raced to the base of the master digimon's throne. "Master, we are under attack!"

_"Impossible. Who would dare attack?"_

"It is a Submarimon!" the digimon replied.

_Could it be Cody? That's impossible..._

_"Destroy it,"_ he ordered simply.

"His power is too great master! He is approaching as we speak!" An explosion in the background confirmed this, making the messenger look back fearfully. "We cannot stop him!"

_"Fools. I will destroy him then. Clear the path for him."_

"Yes, master," the Scubamon answered. He swam off to relay the news to the other warriors, leaving Kari and her master alone for the moment. Despite the fact that the master didn't have eyes, he could see a light smile on Kari's lips.

_"He will not succeed."_ Kari didn't say anything; she just continued to smile. That was quickly remedied with a quick tug on her throat chain by the master digimon's tentacle, which made Kari gag momentarily.

"Kari!!" The girl could hear the voice, but she couldn't believe who it was. She saw Submarimon approach wobblely, perhaps from battle damage. Instead of Cody being there like she expected, she could see TK inside the cockpit of the metallic digimon. Both boys looked at the undersea master with raw determination and anger.

"TK!!" cried Kari, resulting in another quick tug on her throat chain. Seeing Kari gag and clutch her sore throat enraged TK even more. Submarimon picked up on this and went on the offensive.

"Oxygen Torpedo!" Two focused pockets of air shot forth and exploded on the main body of the digimon enemy. Down below, Kari shielded herself with her arms (as if that would help), but even with Submarimon's wooziness he was careful enough to miss Kari. Besides, the master digimon was the size of a small skyscraper; it was hard to miss him. The attack did little damage to the massive digimon, but it was enough to distract him. Submarimon swam forward with amazing speed and geared up to use his serrated nose weapon to slice through Kari's chain. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite fast enough. As he was within fin's length of her, one of the giant tentacles slammed Submarimon away. The digimon and TK cried out as they crashed to the undersea floor.

"Come on Submarimon, get up!" said TK.

"Geez, I feel sorry for Pegasusmon now," Submarimon joked. "You're a regular drill seargent." Submarimon managed to zoom back into action as the master digimon slammed another tentacle down where Submarimon had crashed. The digimon zipped and zagged through dozens of tentacles, and managed to clear out the rest of them with a well placed Oxygen Torpedo that opened a path to Kari. Again he charged forth, and this time he managed to slice the chain holding Kari down.

"Open the hatch Submarimon!" ordered TK.

"But TK, the cockpit will flood!" he said as he swam through the water, dragging Kari with him. She held her breath as best she could, now that the magic of the chain had been destroyed.

_"Come back here!"_ roared the master digimon. He swung several of his tentacles at the smaller digimon, forcing Submarimon to act as a living shield for Kari. Despite the painful attack, the digimon continued to swim forward as fast as he could.

"Kari can't hold her breath much longer! Open the hatch!" Rather than argue with the boy, Submarimon simply complied. As he had said, the pit flooded with water as Kari climbed in. As soon as she was in, Submarimon shut the hatch. Despite the fact that half the compartment was filled with water, and the two kids were cramped together (which some would say wasn't a bad thing), TK and Kari were smiling from ear to ear. They hugged each other fiercely while Submarimon tried to escape.

"TK...," Kari said in amazement. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Don't celebrate just yet!" warned Submarimon as a massive tentacle encircled him, along with several smaller ones. The digimon came to a screeching halt, and a sudden burst of powerful electricity shocked him. Submarimon screamed out in pain as the energy coursed through his body, and tried to break free.

"We gotta do something," said TK. "Submarimon can't hang on much longer."

"What _can_ we do?" Kari asked. "I'm still trying to figure out how Submarimon can be here if Cody isn't."

"Long story," said TK. "Submarimon, do you think you can hold out for just a little longer?"

Another shock flashed through the tentacles enclosing Submarimon, and again he cried out in pain. "I...think...I can," he managed to say.

"What's the plan?" Kari asked.

"Try and use your digivice to protect Submarimon," TK answered. "Together, we can beat this guy."

Kari smiled. "Right." They both reached for their D3's at the same time, and in effect their hands touched for a brief moment. Unconsciously, the two paused in their action, letting their hands remain together for the briefest of moments. When the two realized the other had noticed, they started to blush. Neither had time to notice that however, as they pulled out their digivices and held them at the ready. Submarimon screamed out once more, and his metallic body was now starting to smolder and smoke from all the electric current coursing through him.

_"There is no escape. You cannot hold out much longer, insect."_

"Oh yeah!" declared TK, activating his digivice. "That's where you're wrong!"

Kari held up her digivice and activated it as well. "Yeah! You may think you're special, but to us you're just another beaten digimon!" TK glanced at her, and smiled at the somewhat more agressive attitude she displayed towards this monster. It was different...but intriguing at the same time.

From the cockpit, two glowing lights emanated like twin stars. The lights surrounded Submarimon like a protective blanket, and instantly the electric current running through him was counteracted. The giant undersea digimon, although shocked at this unexpected display, tried to maintain his attack and started to constrict the poor digimon with his mighty tentacles. The energies of TK and Kari protected Submarimon, but the strain of maintaining such a barrier was becoming tougher to handle.

_Must...hold on_, thought TK. _Can't...give up._ He looked at Kari, and saw that she too was faltering. Submarimon was feeling weakness creep over him as well, and despite the struggle the digimon put up, it looked as if he wouldn't get free on his own.

"We're not going to make it...are we," said Kari softly.

"I'm sorry," said Submarimon weakly. "I...don't know if I can hold out...much longer."

"Don't give up!" TK yelled. "We can win if we stick together, but you can't lose hope!"

"But TK..." said Kari. "We're not strong enough on our own. Submarimon is a Champion, and this monster is a Mega. There's no way we can win without help."

Kari felt something she wasn't expecting. TK's free hand interlocked with hers, and a powerful warmth passed through that link between them. Kari looked down at their interlocked hands, and she remembered what he had said on the beach. _Don't worry Kari. I won't let anything happen to you._ TK's warm smile filled Kari with a sense of hope- hope that would never falter.

"You and I, Kari," he said softly. "Together, we can do anything. If we put our faith in each other, everything will be alright."

"How can you be sure?" Kari asked in the same soft voice.

"Because...something as strong as what we have can't be destroyed."

Kari's eyes widened at his words. "...What do we have?"

TK smiled tenderly, and slowly he moved closer to Kari, until their faces were barely separated. The two kids closed their eyes, and they brought their lips together in a passionate kiss unlike anything they had ever experienced. As their first true kiss continued, the glow from their digivices increased dramatically, much to the surprise of Submarimon.

"What's happening?!" he asked. The glow around him noticeably strengthened so much that the tentacles of the master digimon were actually repelled from the smaller digimon. The intensity was like a little kid letting go of the handle while on a rapidly spinning merry-go-round; it was a painful landing for the undersea monster. With an angry yell, he was expelled with incredible force into the sea floor, creating a huge crater where he landed. Submarimon made a beeline for the shore before he could determine how much the attack affected the digimon.

It was at this point, that TK and Kari's kiss ended. The warm love that came with it, however, remained as strong as ever.


	7. A Perfect Dream: Davis' Test

_It would seem that TK and Kari have completed the challenge set before them._

**How did Armadillomon digivolve? Despite what TK says, one cannot armor digivolve without armor. It is slightly different from what he was describing.**

_They're inside a false reality- not the real digital world, but an imaginary copy of it entirely in their mind. TK could make Armadillomon digivolve to Omnimon if he convinced him he could._

**What a downer...and for a second I thought Armadillomon had achieved a breakthrough in the art of digivolving.**

_It doesn't matter. They've done what I expected them to do. Now, all that's left is for our brash young leader to brood over the new couple, and then his mind will do the rest._

**...I still don't think this is a good idea. Toying with a young man's emotions is cruel.**

_I'm well aware of your reservations Gennai, but this is necessary. It is the only way to see if he is truly the child of courage and friendship. Besides, I'm anxious to see the look on his face when he sees how conveniently close this experience has brought TK and Kari._

**Sounds like you didn't enjoy your time with him.**

_He's the most annoying human I've ever met in my life...and as you know I've been around a long time. He has no respect for authority, and has know idea how to be serious._

**He's an eleven-year-old boy, playful and full of life. What did you expect?**

_...I guess you're right._

**By the way, what'd you do with him? I thought he was supposed to be with you.**

_He's where he needs to be. Inform the other digidestined that it's time to finish this._

**Very well.**

****

_Unnh...where am I?_

"Davis..."

_Whose calling me?_

"Davis, wake up...I'm here."

_Kari?_ Davis slowly opened his eyes, and was met with the most beautiful smile in the world- at least as far as he was concerned. The pair of brown eyes looking down on him were filled with love when he made it clear he was alive.

Love? Wait a second. Since when did Kari look at Davis like that?

"Are you alright Davis?" the brown haired girl asked. "You've been asleep for hours. I was starting to get worried." He slowly looked around, and found that he was inside his bedroom. His bedroom in the real world. How'd he get here? He was in that black void just a little while ago...

"Kari, what am I doing here?" Davis tried to sit up, but was instantly met with a searing pain in his gut. "Aggh!"

"Davis, don't push yourself!" warned Kari, as she gently forced him to lie down again. "You were badly wounded."

"Oh yeah..." Davis remembered the events that lead him here. Namely, his words with the mysterious voice over what he did to Kari. (_Wait a sec..._) "Kari, how'd you get here? I thought you and TK were at the dark beach?"

Kari seemed unsure of what he was referring to. "The dark beach? What would we be doing there?"

"You were there to take a test, remember?" he answered. "Gennai sent you on a test to see if you were worthy of being digidestined."

Again, Kari seemed surprised at what he was saying. "Huh? Davis, I still don't know what you're talking about." She put a hand on his, and softly held it. "Davis, you were probably just having a bad dream."

"It wasn't a dream!" he answered sharply. "It was real! We were in the digital world, and we-"

Kari put a hand on Davis' mouth to silence him, which he did. "Whatever happened Davis...it's over now. So just relax, and you can tell me about it once you're well." She moved her hand away, leaned over, and gave the young Motomiya a light kiss on the lips. Davis' heart skipped a beat at that exact moment. Actually, it might have skipped two beats, but Davis had forgotten to count.

When the kiss was over, Kari stood up slowly and smiled down at the boy. "I'll see you later," she said sweetly before leaving the room. Davis watched her leave, the look of shock on his face never disappearing until the front door shutting woke him from his daze.

_Is this happening? Or, am I dreaming? If it _is_ a dream...then don't wake me up!_

****

If it _was_ a dream, it was the best dream Davis had ever had. After sleeping peacefully for the rest of the night, he woke in the morning with a feeling of dread. After last night, he wasn't sure where he would wake up to. Without moving a single muscle except his tired eyes, Davis looked around the room. It was the same room he was always in when he slept at home, and it had all the trimmings brought on by housing an eleven-year-old boy. There were posters of various sports stars, a TV with a video game console hooked up to it, and piles of clothes all over the floor, both dirty and clean. Everything seemed in order...but something didn't feel right. Something was missing this morning.

Davis sat up, and was instantly met with a sharp pain in his gut, just like last night. This time Davis looked down at his stomach, and saw that it was bandaged up tightly from his waist to that thing in the middle of your chest that had some special name. Davis didn't know the name, but he didn't care.

_So last night might not have been a dream. But how can that be? What's going on here?_

"Davis, wake up," said a soft voice outside his door. There were a few quick knocks, and Davis' mother opened the door and peaked her head in. "How are you sweety?"

"Mom?" the boy said with astonishment. His mother was _never_ awake this early in the morning. Her and Dad were either at work at this time, or sleeping in. He and Jun were usually the only ones awake in the morning. "What are you doing up?"

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Someone has to wake you up, sleepy head," she said cheerfully. "Get dressed, and come out and have breakfast, okay?" Breakfast? Since when did they eat breakfast together? The Motomiya family was notorious for having the most boxes of cold cereal in Odaiba. They _never_ ate breakfast together. Something weird was going on. Maybe Mom was pregnant or something...

"Uh...okay Mom," Davis answered simply. His mother nodded and closed the bedroom door behind her, leaving Davis in privacy. The boy carefully got out of bed, so as not to inflame his wound again (_where'd that wound come from, anway?_), and dressed himself for breakfast, all the while wondering what was missing from this morning. After several minutes of thinking about it, he still couldn't place it. Finally, he gave up trying and simply left his bedroom to join the others for breakfast.

"Hey, there he is," said Mr. Motomiya playfully as Davis came to the dinner table. Davis looked at him like he was a stranger, because Davis' father wasn't a playful guy. Ever. He had stopped being playful a long time ago. Why were his parents acting so strangely today? Maybe Mom really _was_ pregnant...

When Davis' mother had finished putting some final touches on the breakfast platter (some pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast), she sat down and folded her hands together to say grace. Davis quickly did the same, though after such a long time he had forgotten the words to this prayer. Luckily, his mother said the prayer herself.

"Bless us oh lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from the bounty of Christ our lord, Amen." She did the sign of the cross, and Davis watched her carefully and mimicked her so as not to make a mistake. Geez...what was going on? They hadn't done anything like that in years. While he mused on this, Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya started filling their plates and began to eat.

"Mom, is there something you want to tell us?" Davis asked. "We never eat breakfast together."

Her and her husband seemed surprised at that remark. "Davis, we always eat breakfast together. You love eating breakfast with us, so why would we do otherwise?" She took a bite out of her toast, while Davis tried to figure out what they were trying to pull. Maybe his food was poisoned...

"So, I understand you have a game today against last year's champions," said Davis' father. "That young Ichijouji is supposed to be doing very well this year. You think you can handle him, ace?"

_Did he just call me "ace"?_ "Eh...sure. He and I have a bet riding on this game...I think." Davis wasn't sure what was going on anymore, but it sounded like it was still Saturday. How could it still be Saturday morning after all that had happened in the digital world? Unless, that was really a dream like Kari had said...

"Well I don't promote gambling, but I hope you win," his father said with a smile. "Just take it easy. You're still injured from last week's...incident." Davis wasn't sure what he meant, but his parents weren't going to remind him from the looks of it. While they ate their food, Davis looked at the table, and finally realized what was missing this morning.

"Hey, where's Jun?" Davis asked. "Did she leave for Matt's concert already?" Both Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya looked at Davis like they didn't know what he was talking about. Davis suddenly grew alarmed; this was definitely _not_ normal. "You know, Jun?"

"You mean that girl that comes by all the time?" his father asked.

"No, dear, that's Kari Kamiya," his mother answered. "Such a sweet girl..."

Davis smiled. "I agree with you there, but I was asking about Jun. You know, my sister? Your daughter?" They still didn't understand who he was talking about. That was impossible...

"Davis, what are you talking about?" his mother said. "You don't have a sister."

Davis nearly fell out of his chair.

****

When Submarimon finally surfaced, he opened the hatch and let TK, Kari, and about twenty gallons of seawater pour out. As the two kids stumbled through the shallow waves to the beach, the armor digimon reverted to Armadillomon. The three quickly managed to get ashore, and collapsed in the wet sand once they did- both out of fatigue and relief.

"I can't believe we made it," said Kari as she tried to figure out a way to get the excess chains off her.

"Told you we would," TK said between deep breaths.

"I'm done," said an exhausted Armadillomon. "Wake me up when it's dinner time."

"Don't go to sleep just yet. First we gotta get back to Gennai's house." Armadillomon groaned in protest, and muttered something unintelligible. "Don't worry, we just have to go inland a ways before we reach the gate."

"Before we go, can we get these chains off me?" Kari asked. "This stuff weighed a lot less underwater. I'm amazed I could even move."

"I don't know, they look kinda good on you," said TK jokingly. "It could be the next big fad."

"Maybe your brother would like them. I'm sure he's into heavy metal." Kari and TK both smiled and went to work on the chains. The chains had a lock on them, though no amount of lockpicking from either child was enough to undue them. After nearly fifteen minutes of this, they decided to try plan B.

"Armadillomon, could you chomp through these?" They heard no answer from the digimon. They looked to see that the poor guy had fallen asleep while they were working on the locks. Deciding that he deserved a good rest, they decided not to wake him and instead continued to work on the chains.

"I suppose we could try a rock," suggested TK, "but I don't know how much that'll do."

"It's better than nothing I suppose," Kari replied, stifling a yawn. "Let's try it."

TK stood up, saying "I'll be back." The boy walked along the beach towards the nearby collection of rocks, large and small, that had washed up on shore. TK climbed over and amongst the piles of stone in search of just the right rock, when he came across something much different. Amongst a pile of fresh, moist seaweed, TK saw a small egg with strange markings all over it.

"Man, I'm good at this. Pity I didn't find this many eggs during Easter when I was a kid," he said sarcastically. Calmly he reached down and picked up the egg, which immediately transmogrified into a brown basket with a small digimon inside of it. The creature was blue with tiny yellow markings, and had a pair of black eyes that stared directly at TK.

"Hi!" said the tiny baby.

"I'm guessing you're the baby form of Demiveemon," said TK with a smile. "How do you feel."

Another flash of light. These guys sure are digivolving fast, thought TK. In the place of the baby digimon, an ecstatic Demiveemon remained. The happy monster clung to TK and nearly choked the life out of him with a crushing hug.

"Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! THANK-YOU!" he said at a speed TK never thought possible for human or digimon. "You saved me, TK!"

"Don't mention it," the boy answered. "That leaves just one egg, and we're all done! Hopefully, Davis knows what he's doing."

Demiveemon looked around, and just then he seemed to notice that Davis wasn't there. This apparently made him very sad, as he lost much of his seemingly boundless energy. "Where's Davis?" he asked sadly.

"Don't worry, he's alright," TK answered. "You should see him in no time."

"YAY! YAY! YAY!" cheered the little digimon, making TK's eardrum rattle violently.

"But first, can you help me get some chains off of Kari?" he asked. "There real strong, and Armadillomon is too tired to bite through them."

"No problem!" Demiveemon cheered. He hopped to the ground next to TK, and yet again he digivolved in a burst of light. He became Veemon right before TK's eyes, and hopped off towards the main part of the beach, with TK following him quickly, all the while wondering if they really would see Davis again.

****

After managing to convince his parents that he wasn't crazy, Davis dressed up for his soccer game and headed towards the field. Since his coach always held about half an hour worth of warm-ups before every game, he was supposed to be there an hour early. Thus, it was still dark when he reached the field where his other teammates were.

During the warm-ups, Davis was lost in thought. What the heck was going on here? What had happened to everybody? It was as if his life had been turned inside out. Kari loved him, his parents had time for him, and his older sister was wiped from the face of the Earth. It was like he was in a whole new world- a world that was both frightening and surprisingly comfortable at the same time.

_Okay, so one minute I'm in the digital world (I think) with some weird voice that's trying to show me things I didn't know. Next, I'm here in my own perfect world. That's what it is, a perfect world! Next thing you know, TJ will be my personal butler._ Davis laughed at the thought of TK cleaning his room for him, but then seriousness kicked in. He was here for a reason, and he had to find out why. As he was thinking of this, time seemed to fly by faster than he expected. It was game time.

"Hey Davis!" called out someone from the stands. Davis looked and saw Kari and the others taking their seats in preparation for the soccer match. Kari blew a kiss to the boy, which made him smile nervously. He had always dreamed of her acting this way towards him, but now that she really was infatuated with him, Davis didn't know what to do.

As he finished stretching, he tried to figure out if how much the others had changed, if at all. Yolei seemed as irritatingly active as ever. Judging by the way she was constantly staring at the other team, Davis could tell this Yolei still had a thing for Ken. Little Cody was apparently as calm and collected as he always was. Aside from the odd stares he was giving Davis, he seemed normal. TK looked the same as he always did, including that dumb hat of his. He didn't seem the least perturbed by Kari's affections towards Davis. This made the young digidestined suspicious, but then again it made sense. Davis knew the young Takaishi wouldn't be as ballistic about Kari liking another guy as he would. They would always be close friends, even if Kari liked other guys.

"Yo! Motomiya!" yelled the coach. "Wake up, it's game time!" Davis watched the other players leave the field in preparation for the coin toss. He smiled, saying "Sorry coach!", and did the same.

The game began just like any other. Davis and Ken were the primary players in the game, although neither one was a "ball hog". Ken was still an incredible soccer player, although he had lost much of his skill ever since he stopped being the Digimon Emperor. Despite the fact that Davis was injured, he showed off his skills like the best of them. The two of them had a blast the whole game trying to outdodge and outplay each other, with their friends cheering them on. Davis couldn't help but notice how much Kari cheered for him the whole time, and how good it made him feel. As far as he was concerned, it was because of her that the game ended the way it did. The score was a close 2 to 1, with the winning team being Davis' team.

"That was an incredible game you guys!" said Yolei as the two players cooled off after the game. "It was a close match up until the very end."

"No kidding," added TK. "I didn't think you could pull that one off, Davis. Guess you lucked out today."

"It won't happen next time," said Ken jokingly. Davis smiled at his opponent and gave him a friendly nod.

"I got some good pictures of you guys," said Kari, showing off the saved images in her digital camera. "I'll be sure to give you a copy if you want them."

"I want some of Ken's!" said Yolei. Ken blushed, and Yolei giggled as she ran over and cycled through Kari's camera pictures again.

"*ahem*, uh...I'd better get going," said Ken as he tried to change the subject. "I don't want to miss the bus."

"Catch ya later Ken!" said Davis happily. The others said their good-byes as well, before Ken and the rest of the Tamachi team loaded up on their bus and headed home. The other kids began their trek home as well.

"So what do you guys want to do today?" asked TK. "Does anyone have any plans?"

"Not me," said Yolei.

"What about you guys?" TK asked Davis and Kari. The two were holding hands, which Davis enjoyed despite it being something uncomfortably new and unusual to him.

"I don't know, do we Davis?" Kari asked, smiling sweetly. Davis blushed, but tried to hide it even though they were "a couple".

"I uh...was kinda hoping that... I could spend the day with you, Kari," he managed to say. "A-alone..."

Kari's smile grew mischievous. "Really?"

Davis' face grew redder. "Y-yes."

Kari moved closer to Davis and locked arms with him. "You're so cute when you're nervous."

Davis tried to think of something intelligent to say, but that proved impossible. "Eh heh heh..."

"I guess that means you guys have plans," said Yolei, ever master of the obvious. "You two behave now." Yolei and Kari giggled.

"I just hope Demiveemon doesn't think I'm abandoning him," said Davis jokingly.

"Who?" said TK.

Davis stopped dead in his tracks, nearly making Kari fall over. Everyone turned to see what made him stop, and saw a look of total disbelief on his face. He was staring at each of them, one by one. Everyone except little Cody looked confused, while the young Hida looked concerned.

"Don't tell me...that's impossible," muttered Davis. "Demiveemon...and Patamon, and Hawkmon..."

"Patamon? How do you know about Patamon?!" exclaimed TK, almost angrily. "Where'd you hear that name?!"

"You mean none of the digimon are here?!" Davis said with total surprise. "But...how?!"

"How do you know about digimon, Davis?" asked Kari fearfully.

Davis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're all digidestined! We each got our own digimon and D3's a while ago! We fought Ken when he was the Digimon Emperor! Don't you remember?!" TK and Kari looked at each other, while Yolei and Cody simply looked at Davis. Apparently, the latter two didn't know what he was talking about.

"Davis...after the incident four years ago, nobody has seen or heard a digimon," said Kari. "The stuff you're saying...we don't know what you're talking about."

"Why would we fight Ken?!" exclaimed Yolei. "He's one of our best friends!"

Davis gave up. Whatever was going on, he'd have to worry about it later. Putting on his best false smile, he said "Don't worry about it. It was just a joke Ken and I came up with. Sorry if you didn't think it was funny." This caught the others off guard. He had been so serious about it before, they didn't believe he could be making it up. Then again, Davis was known for his lying.

"But...how do you know about Patamon?" TK asked. "Nobody should know about him."

"Uh...your brother told me about him once," said Davis quickly. "Yeah...when I told him about how I was on that airliner that was taken down by a digimon four years ago."

TK seemed to buy this, though he was still noticeably uncomfortable about hearing Patamon's name again. "Oh...okay." After the tenseness of the moment faded, the kids resumed their walk home, eventually splitting up to go their separate ways for some lunch and to take care of any other duties they had at home.

"See you guys later," said Yolei as she headed home.

"Bye," said TK, doing the same.

Before Kari headed home, she gave Davis a long, loving kiss on his lips. Rather than act surprised as before, Davis held her and continued the kiss, surprising Kari at the same time. When the kiss finally ended, Kari smiled almost shyly at him, and finally walked home. Davis watched her walk away, with a sense of total happiness in his very being.

"Davis."

The boy spun around, and noticed that Cody was still there. The entire trip home, he hadn't said a single word. Now, Davis was worried. Cody was the least likely to be fooled by Davis' attempt at lying. He didn't think Cody would press the issue, but he couldn't be sure.

"Uh...yeah Cody?" he said, trying to sound relaxed.

"Is something wrong?" he asked simply. "You've been acting strange all morning."

"Yeah, never better Cody!" he answered quickly. "Why do you ask?"

"Kari's been worried sick about you. She says you've been acting strange all week, ever since the accident."

_Accident? What accident?_ "Eh...what do you mean? I'm fine, really!"

Cody didn't seem to buy into Davis' convincing, but the boy didn't seem interested in interrogating him further. Instead, he headed off towards his home, giving Davis a simple message before he left. "If something's wrong, go talk to someone. Don't put Kari through anymore pain."

Davis silently watched him leave, before finally heading to his own home, determined to find out what exactly was going on.

****

The gate to Gennai's cabin started to glow once again, making Ken, Yolei, and Cody leap out of their seats. They watched the travellers materialize in the room before them, and happily went to congratulate them when they finished appearing.

"Armadillomon, you're alright!" cheered Cody, hugging his digimon partner happily.

"Yeah, I'm alright," he answered sleepily. "I'm glad to see you too."

"You guys did it!" cheered Yolei as she hugged TK and Kari happily. "I can't believe it!"

"Neither can we," said TK as he peeled Yolei off him and Kari. "I guess that means we're done!" he said happily.

**Not quite.**

"But Gennai...we've completed all your tests," said Ken. "Davis should be done with his by now."

**He isn't. I'm afraid that's the problem.**

"What do you mean?" Veemon asked. "What happened to Davis?!"

**It's a long story Veemon, but right now the important thing is this. Since Davis isn't here, one of you will have to finish his final task for him.**

"Darn..." said Ken. "That must mean he didn't pass the test."

**He's still in the progress of taking his test. Don't worry, he's fine for now. The final task is a very simple one I'm told, so I wouldn't worry.**

"What do we have to do?" Kari asked.

**It's easy. All you have to do is find Gatomon's egg. It is hidden in the woods around my cabin, in a very specific place chosen by my overseer.**

"That's all?" TK said bewildered. "What's the catch?"

**The catch is that one of you will be chosen to pick up the egg once you find it. These instructions are very specific, though I don't know why. I'd suggest not touching it until told to, for your own safety.**

"*sigh*...I hate these rules," groaned Yolei. "Let's just get this over with."

**Right.** A section of the wall started to shimmer, and in the blink of an eye a bare section of the wall transmuted into a simple door with a knob. **That will lead you outside. Good luck, digidestined.**

TK nodded to the TV screen. "Thanks Gennai." With that, the kids headed outside to begin their search for Gatomon's egg, and hoped that whatever was happening to Davis would end soon. They didn't want to lose anybody on this trip- even Davis.

****

In Japan, with everything being so crowded, there were few places that could provide privacy for two people, and the freedom of nature at the same time. Luckily, in Odaiba there was a place that suited this purpose. In a small section of town, there were several interconnected gardens filled with flowers and plants of incredible beauty. It was owned by Mrs. Takenouchi, Sora's mom, and used to grow specific flowers for her shop. She often lent it out to anyone who wanted a place to relax. Many people came here to admire the splendor that it had to offer, and just as many came to enjoy some privacy amongst the flowers. It wasn't a well known location, so it was rarely crowded, which suited most couples just fine. Today, Davis and Kari had lucked out- nobody was there that day. They could rest on the soft ground, staring into the sky above and listening to the silence around them.

"This place is so beautiful," said Kari dreamily. "I love coming here." She snuggled closer to Davis. "Especially when I'm with you."

Davis found himself twirling some strands of her hair with his index finger as he thought. "Kari... could you tell me about the accident?"

Kari looked at him sadly. "Why?"

"I don't know what happened," he said truthfully. "I'm sorry if it's painful for you...but I have to know."

Kari's face was filled with sorrow, and even fear. She lay her head on his chest and held him protectively, while she recalled what happened. "Last week...you were caught in an accident. Late one night, while you were walking me home, we were almost hit by a speeding car. You managed to save me just in time...but you didn't quite make it." She held him tighter, and she could here Davis' heartbeat pick up speed. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the good way. Kari continued. "The doctors said you didn't look like you'd make it, and it crushed me. I thought my life would end right there. Then, miraculously, you were almost fully healed. When I found out you were going to make it...I cried tears of joy the rest of the night, until you woke up."

Davis put a hand on Kari's shoulders and held her comfortingly. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Kari."

Kari looked up at his face, tears in her eyes. "I know, Davis. I'm just glad you're with me now." She lay her head on his chest again. "Promise me, Davis. Promise me you'll never leave me. I want to be with you...forever."

Kari felt Davis' chest shake slightly, and she heard soft whimpers coming from the boy she loved. She looked up, and saw Davis crying softly. "Davis? What's wrong?"

He looked at her affectionately- something Davis wasn't known for. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to here you say that, Kari." Davis sat up, and Kari did the same, though they remained very close to each other. "I'll promise you anything you want, Kari. Just as long as you and I can be happy."

Kari was overwhelmed with emotion, but she managed to smile and nod. "Thank you."

Davis then said something he thought he'd never have a chance to say in his entire life. Slowly, softly, he said the four words he had been waiting forever to say. "Kari...I love you."

"...I love you too, Davis," she replied lovingly. Then, amongst the most beautiful flowers in Odaiba, they kissed each other in perhaps the most emotional, powerful kiss either one had ever had in their lives.

It was a kiss that TK and Kari had made, in the world Davis was leaving behind.

****

Armadillomon popped his head out of the ground, spitting out chunks of dirt that had ended up in his mouth during his tunneling. "Are we anywhere close?" he asked the others, who were searching the area around them. Kari and Yolei were using their D3's, while Ken, TK, and Cody were busy searching manually for any signs of Gatomon's egg. For the past two hours, they had found nothing.

"Maybe the egg isn't really here," mused Cody. "Gennai could be lying."

"Why would he do that?" Ken said. "Besides, he said it was his 'overseer' who hid the egg. We should be yelling at that guy."

"We know we're close," said Yolei. "The D3 is picking up an egg, but it's exact location is somewhat of a mystery. It's as if something is messing up the signal."

"I hope Gatomon is okay," said Kari worriedly.

"Don't worry Kari," said TK assuringly. "She's alright, and we won't stop looking until we find her."

"Right!" said Veemon. "We won't lose her!"

"You can count on that," added Armadillomon before resuming his tunneling.

"Thanks guys," Kari said happily. "You're right. She'll be fine."

Hawkmon descended from the skies above, landing on the ground before Yolei. He saluted mockingly, saying "Hawkmon, here to report sir!"

Yolei giggled. "Did you find anything?"

He pointed in the direction they were heading. "About a mile up there, this valley ends. There are mountains all around this place, so if Gatomon's egg is anywhere, we'll find it before we reach the end."

"Good," said TK. "Then let's get going. A mile is a lot of ground to cover."

"No kidding," said Cody as he continued trudging along with the others. "This egg is going to get us killed if this keeps up."

****

Davis and Kari stopped at the door to the Kamiya residence. Despite the fact that it wasn't all that late, he still walked Kari home at her insistance. Davis gladly complied, of course.

"Well, here we are," Kari said, almost sadly. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"I hope so," he replied with a smile. Kari smiled as well and opened the door. Before going in, she gave Davis a quick farewell kiss on the cheek, and closed the door while watching him smile at her. When the door closed all the way, Davis walked down the path and headed to where he lived. He walked inside, and found a note on the table from his parents. It basically said that they were out getting some stuff at the store, and they would be back shortly. Davis smiled and walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

_Hello, young man,_ said a familiar voice. Davis instantly went on the alert, and his gaze dashed left and right trying to find the voice.

"What're you doing here?!" he yelled. "What do you want, you jerk?!"

_Is that any way to treat the 'mon who gave you all this?_ the voice asked.

Davis relaxed slightly when he realized the voice meant him no immediate harm. "What? All this?"

_Yes... how do you think you got here to this "perfect world" of yours? You should be thanking me._

"I knew you were behind this," said Davis angrily. "What are you trying to do?"

_This is the _test_, young man,_ he said teasingly. _It's time for you to decide._

Davis clenched his fists tightly. "Decide what?"

_You can stay in this world, where the real Davis died just before I replaced him with you, and live a long, happy life with Kari and without the pressures of being a digidestined. Or, I can return you home._ Davis' anger was replaced by true worry. Such a proposition was one he didn't want to think about. Now, he had no choice but to think about it.

"If I don't go back...Kari will die."

*Flash* _"Help me!!"_ *Flash*

_Yes...even as we speak, the other digidestined are approaching the place where I hid Gatomon's egg. Soon, I will instruct Gennai to have Kari pick up said egg, and... well, you know the rest._

Davis trembled. "You...monster!" he yelled.

_Why even worry about her? That Kari doesn't even love you like you do. She loves TK, remember?_ Davis head bowed in thought as what the voice said weighed down on him. _And what's worse, if you go back, you will have to face the fate that you're trying to save Kari from. Even if you know about the pool, or even if you tell the others, there's no way to get Gatomon's egg back without someone touching the pool around it. I have personally seen to it that there are no loopholes in this test, knowing how you love to find loopholes._

Davis continued to stare at the floor ahead of him, so the voice continued. _So what's it going to be, digidestined? Which fate do you choose for Kari and yourself?_ _Who will live...and who will die?_

The young Motomiya took in one, long, controlled breath, and let the air out just as methodically. Never had he been in such a position, but then again, never had such a situation turned up like this. Actually...that was a lie. When the Digimon Emperor had supposedly captured his friends and tried to make him decide which one lived out of the four, Davis had to make a similar decision. So, like last time, he made the decision the only way he knew how- with his heart.

****

The phone rang in the kitchen, though at first Tai didn't get up. The movie he was watching was just way to good, and he thought someone else in the house would get it before him. He wasn't disappointed.

"Thanks for answering the phone, Tai," said Kari sarcastically. She picked up the receiver and said "Konnichiwa."

_"...Hello, Kari."_

"Davis, hi!" said Kari happily. "I can't stay on the phone too long, or else Tai will start throwing stuff at me."

"I heard that," said the older Kamiya before taking another bite of his popcorn.

_"Don't worry, I shouldn't take long."_

It was at this point that Kari noticed the underlying tone in Davis' voice. "Davis, what's wrong?"

_"..."_

"Davis, please tell me," pleaded Kari. Tai glanced over his shoulder at his sister, and saw the worry on her face. As any self-respecting big brother would do, he turned off the movie he was watching and listened to the phone conversation, just in case things got ugly.

_"Kari...I have to go."_

"Go? Go where?" she asked.

_"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I can't come back."_

Kari grew alarmed. "What? What are you talking about? Are you...running away?"

_"...Yeah."_

"Why?!" she exclaimed. "Why would you do such a thing? And what about what we promised each other today." Tai's ears perked up, and before he could voice his protest, Kari shooshed him and turned her back to him.

_"*sniff*...I know. I'm so sorry Kari, I can't explain it. I just want you to know that I wouldn't leave you if it weren't for something more important than my entire life."_

"Then let me come with you!" cried Kari, coming to tears herself. "I almost lost you once, I don't want to lose you again!"

_"...I can't. I can't tell you why I'm doing this, and I can't take you with me, as much as I want to."_

"Why not!" she cried. "If it's something serious, call the police! Please, just tell me Davis!" The boy could hear her crying over the phone, which cut him like a knife in his heart.

_"I...I just want you to know that I love you more than anything, Kari,"_ continued Davis. _"Please don't think that I'm doing this for another girl, or anything selfish like that. As weird as it sounds, I'm doing this for you."_

"Davis...I can't live without you," she said, her voice brimming with sorrow. Tai was at her side by now, trying to figure out what was going on.

_"Trust me...there's another guy who is better for you than I ever could be,"_ he answered, nearly choking on the words.

"Davis!" cried Kari again, fearing for the first time that Davis might be doing something horrible to himself soon. "Whatever you're going to do, don't do it! Please, don't!!"

_"...I'm sorry,"_ he said between tearful gasps. _"Goodbye, Kari." *click*_

Other than the dialtone, only silence followed. A long, painful, silence.

****

After a long and severly annoying journey, the digidestined finally reached their target- a pool at the far edges of the forests outside Gennai's home. The digidestined looked at the glowing pool of liquid with awe and wonder. It would be a misnomer to call it water, because water didn't ripple without wind.

"This must be it," suggested Kari.

"We've checked everywhere else," said Cody. "This has to be it."

TK nodded. "Okay, then let's get it and get out of here," said the boy as he stepped up to the pool and looked down, expecting to see a muddy waterbed. "...I can't see the bottom."

"So what?" said Yolei. "It's just dirty water."

"In the digital world, it can be anything," said Ken warningly. TK nodded in affirmation.

"Well we have to check to see if the egg is inside don't we?" said Kari. "If we give up now, then we'll never see Gatomon again."

"Who has to pick the egg up?" Ken asked.

Kari glanced down at her D-terminal. The message was simple, and straightforward. It read 'Good luck, Kari'. ~Gennai.

"Since Davis isn't here, I have to."

Cody, Ken, and Yolei stepped back while TK moved closer to the girl. "Okay Kari...be careful," said TK just before he touched her lips gently with his own. Kari accepted the kiss and added her own emotions to it.

The other three digidestined looked on in total shock, along with the digimon. "When did _this_ happen?" exclaimed Patamon.

"Long story," said Armadillomon.

Eventually they broke the kiss. "I'll be waiting for you," said TK softly.

"I'll be with you soon," she answered just as quietly. TK finally joined the others, while Kari turned and knelt next to the strange shimmering pool. As the others watched intently, Kari extended her hand ever so slowly towards the opaque liquid.

"WAIT!!" somebody cried at the top of their lungs. Everyone turned around to see Davis stumbling through some brush to the clearing where they all stood. He looked where Kari was and ran over before anyone could exclaim at Davis' presence. "Kari, don't touch it!!" Kari practically leaped from the pool, like it had just jumped up and tried to bite her. When Davis had stopped screaming, she and everyone else started to calm down.

"You sure like to make an entrance, don't you Davis," said Yolei sarcastically.

"Davis!" cheered Veemon, leaping into his partners arms. "Where've you been?!"

"...I'll tell you later," Davis said. "Right now, I have to pick up this egg," he said seriously. "Sorry for making you guys worry."

"Who was worried?" said Yolei. Davis groaned.

"We're glad you're alright," said Kari. Davis looked at her uncomfortably, though the others didn't know why. Davis gave TK an odd look as well, but the other boy didn't say anything about it. He knew what was on Davis' mind the moment he saw his eyes.

"So did you pass your test?" Ken asked. "You've been gone for eight hours, so you should have had plenty of time."

Davis frowned and looked at the pool where Gatomon's egg lay. "This is the last part."

"Well...I guess you need to go ahead and do it," said Cody. "Doesn't look too hard."

Davis sighed, his gaze still locked on the pool. "...Yeah." While the others looked on, Davis stepped forward methodically, until he was finally standing at the puddle's edge. He kneeled down, stared into the liquid, and took one glance over his shoulder at the others- primarily Kari. She looked away, and Davis returned his attention to the pool before him.

_Okay...here we go,_ he thought as he lifted his gloved hands up.

(What's wrong with him?) whispered Yolei as she held onto Ken unconsciously. (Why's he hesitating?)

_One..._

(Maybe he knows something we don't,) he answered back. (Maybe that's why he didn't want Kari to touch it.)

_Two..._

Realization dawned on Kari's face. (That's it! This pool must be booby-trapped or something. But that means...) Kari raced forward to try and stop the boy. "Davis, don't!!"

_Three!!_


	8. 

Time never seemed to move so slowly. Davis felt like he was living his entire life in that one moment. He expected to see his life flash before his eyes, like all those people in the movies he had seen. Instead, all he could see was Kari's reflection as she started running towards him. The reflection was marred when his hands shot into the pool.

At first, everything was fine. Even though the sound of sizzling was just beginning, Davis felt nothing. Luckily, his gloves were what were sizzling at that moment. Davis wondered if perhaps that would be enough. Unfortunately, he couldn't see into the pool, and it was tough to move quickly when your hands were fighting water.

Then, he felt it. When he first felt it, it was like his hands had fallen asleep. Both his hands were tingling like he had fallen asleep on them. For a split second, Davis' lips were curled into a smile. He was finally doing something TK hadn't done. If he weren't so determined to find Gatomon's egg as soon as possible, he would have turned around and gloated to the young Takaishi.

In the time it took a thought to move, the tingling changed into a painful burning feeling. Davis remembered feeling like this when he had touched the stove while Mommy was on the phone. He remembered calling her that when he was that age- about five, he thought. When she heard him scream, she dropped the phone and ran into the kitchen, where he was bawling his eyes out and holding his wounded finger. Davis had asked her to kiss it all better, but she used some bandages to help. He didn't mind.

The burning feeling grew stronger, and Davis still couldn't feel Gatomon's egg. Never had he felt something this painful. By now, he had started screaming, but he was so focused that he could barely hear himself. He realized something was tugging on his right arm, but he easily ignored it. Whoever it was, they weren't strong enough to pull him away. Davis took a millisecond of his time to guess it was Kari. It must have been the first time the boy had ever ignored Kari.

Davis thought he felt something with the fingers of his left hand. He wondered if he had any fingers left, but he quickly stopped thinking about that. If he thought about it, he might have backed down. It was too late to back down, and he definitely didn't want to try this a second time. As quickly as he could, he clasped the object he felt with both hands. He wasn't sure if he succeeded or not. At that moment, he couldn't feel his hands. He could see some vague outlines of them, so he knew they were still there. He remembered hearing in school that there were three kinds of burns, and that the third kind was the one you couldn't feel. He must have reached that point. Despite how slowly everything seemed to be going, it had actually only been a few seconds. This was definitely some strong stuff, Davis thought.

It was now or never, he told himself. Whatever was in his hands would have to come out now, or else he wouldn't have any hands left to pull it out. Using all the strength he had left, he pulled with all his might, causing himself and the person tugging on his arm (he found that he had guessed right) to fall on their backs. Davis saw Kari screaming in slow motion, and saw TK trying to pull her from the spraying acid that Davis had accidentally splashed. Good old TK, protecting Kari like he promised. The acid splashed mostly on Davis, which he barely felt due to the shock to his system from his earlier feat. The rest hit the ground where Kari was moments before, while some droplets hit TK on his left arm and leg. Luckily, they weren't any worse than what happens with touching a hot stove for a second. He'd be okay.

As blackness overtook Davis, he couldn't help but smile. The last thing he saw before the pain overwhelmed him was a large, white egg falling into the brush behind Ken and the others. His reverse soccer pass hadn't quite hit his mark, but it was pretty close, he thought with satisfaction. It didn't matter if he hit or missed; what mattered was that Gatomon was safe, and Kari was going to live. He had done it.

It was the first test in his life that he passed with flying colors.

****

"Davis! Davis!!" cried Kari from where TK had dragged her. She ran over to where Davis' still body lay. TK and the others did the same, and all had the same looks on their face- horror and dismay. TK touched the boy's smoldering jacket. Instantly he swore and pulled his hand away quickly as he was burned.

"Get his jacket off!" TK ordered quickly. Veemon complied, and easily he tore the jacket off his partner's body. The digimon easily ignored the pain that the burning fluid caused him, and proceeded to get his shirt, covered in the same liquid, off the motionless boy as quickly as possible. When this was done, he was about to roll Davis over, but stopped when he saw what was hidden underneath the boy's chest.

"My...god..." said Ken softly when he saw what Veemon saw. Nobody else was at the right spot to see this, luckily. Ken looked up at them and shook his head. "Don't turn him over."

"Davis, get up!" yelled Kari, shaking the boy by his free shoulder. "Davis!!"

Ken looked to the others, but Cody and Yolei didn't look like they would be any help. They were having trouble keeping themselves under control after seeing such a grisly scene. Ken looked at TK, and the other boy nodded.

"Go get Gatomon's egg," TK ordered Kari and the other two. Cody and Yolei immediately obeyed, but Kari protested.

"But-"

"Kari, please," the blonde insisted. He looked down at Davis, then at her again. She did the same, and slowly she accepted his suggestion. She stood up and walked over to where the other two were, and they were quickly joined by all the digimon except Veemon. Once they were out of sight Ken and Veemon turned Davis' body over, revealing the horrible wounds lining his torso, the lower half of his arms, and what used to be his hands. At this point, all that was left were two bone-white masses of flesh in the vague shape of a hand. How much was bone and how much was flesh couldn't be easily determined.

"Oh man..." muttered TK as he tried not to vomit. Veemon just stared at the body, his eyes full of pain and grief. Ken managed to suppress the feelings inside him, and calmly lay his tilted head on Davis' chest. The other two remained completely silent.

"I hear something," said Ken finally, "but it's very weak." At that moment, Davis' eyes snapped open, and he looked up at the three faces surrounding him. He breathed slowly and in sporadic bursts, but other than that he seemed deceptively calm.

"Davis..." Veemon managed to say.

The goggled boy looked up at his digimon partner, and smiled. "Is Gatomon..."

"Her egg is free," Ken answered. "You did it, Davis."

Davis smiled weakly. "Guess I won't get a chance to celebrate."

"Don't say that!" said TK forcefully. "You're going to be fine!"

The wounded digidestined tried to look at his hands, but the strain of doing so wasn't worth it. He just accepted it on faith that it looked bad. "It's okay. It doesn't hurt now." Davis' breathing stuttered momentarily, and anyone who saw him could tell he was having difficulty keeping his breathing constant. He wasn't going to last much longer. 

Davis looked straight at TK, and said seriously, "T...P..."

"Close enough," he answered with a forced smile. Davis smiled as well.

"Looks like Kari finally picked one of us," he said softly. "Take care of her." TK couldn't answer, so all he did was nod sadly. Davis' eyes started to close, and as his breathing slowed to nothing, he managed to say "Bye...Ka...ri..."

Veemon's eyes widened as shock was replaced with alarm. "Da-vis!!" The digimon fell on his friend and cried into his chest. "Da-vis, come back!!"

"No..." said TK as he started to cry also. Ken shut his eyes as he grew teary-eyed as well, but he had the strength to get up and leave the grim scene. Slowly he walked over to where the others were supposedly looking for Gatomon. He found them, waiting quietly in a group down the path that had lead them here. When the others saw him, they looked at him hopefully.

Ken looked straight at Kari, and slowly shook his head. Seeing Kari's resultant expression broke down the last barriers in Ken's heart, and he started crying as well. Yolei did the same, and the two held each other as they wept. Finally, even the resilient Cody broke down, and the digimon weren't far behind.

****

The light slowly replaced the darkness. It was a bright light. A very bright light. A _painfully_ bright light.

"Aghh..." groaned Davis. The boy sat up quickly so as to get the white light out of his face. Remembering what had happened moments earlier, he quickly looked down at his hands. He was surprised to find them intact, and colored normally. Whatever pain was there before wasn't there now.

_Welcome back,_ said the familiar voice that had guided Davis the whole time. Davis realized where he was, and looked up towards the darkness where the voice seemed to echo from. Davis remained in the area designated for him. _Well done._

"What am I doing here?" the boy asked. "I should be...well, I don't know. I don't feel dead."

_How would you know what death feels like?_

Davis shrugged. "I don't know. I was kinda hoping I wouldn't have to listen to you though." The voice laughed warmly. Davis wondered if this was indeed the same guy from before.

_I'm just here to tell you that you succeeded far beyond what I expected from you. Heh...Gennai was right all along. You _are _a worthy child._

Davis sighed. "I'm happy to know that. But if I'm dead...what good does it do?"

_Don't be so quick to assume, Davis,_ said the voice as the spotlight around the boy widened to encompass a much wider area. The entire environment around them seemed to shift, becoming a vast plain of green grass much like what Ken saw in his vision. In the darkened skies above, Davis saw the last thing he expected to see- a draconian serpent surrounded by clouds and chains.

"Azulongmon?!!" he exclaimed. The monstrous digimon laughed at Davis' surprise.

_I guess I'm a better actor than I thought,_ he said in his booming voice. _I must apologize to you for how I treated you during our time together._

Davis was still blinking in surprise. "I'm just glad you didn't fight me like I wanted." Again the digital spirit laughed.

_It was necessary to hide my identity from you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have believed that this was real._

The digidestined looked at the digimon quizzically. "What?"

Azulongmon seemed to smile. _You'll see._ He took a deep breath, and blew a stream of billowy white clouds down at Davis. It wasn't an attack, so much as...something much less threatening. _Wake up..._

Davis started to feel light-headed, though he wasn't sure why. "What's...happening? Hey, wait!"

_Wake...up..._ *Flash*

Davis awoke with a start, and was instantly blinded by the morning sun. The boy looked around, totally confused and barely conscious. He wiped his eyes free of all the gunk that had accumulated during the night. Eventually he realized what that meant if he could do that. He looked down at his two hands, and as before they were totally normal.

_Don't tell me... that was all a dream._ Davis groaned and fell back on his pillow. _I need to stop watching scary movies or something. _He stared up at the ceiling, and quietly got his bearings. He had to be sure he wasn't dreaming. Of course, if his dream had caused him so much pain that he had "died", how could he tell if he was still sleeping?

"Davis..." whined the other occupant of the bed. Davis looked over at Demiveemon, who judging by his awkward position was still asleep. The digimon seemed to be dreaming about something rather disturbing, since his face was filled with a painful expression. Davis sat up and watched this for a little while.

_I wonder what he's dreaming about,_ mused Davis. Deciding not to wake him, the boy quietly got out of bed and stumbled towards the bathroom. When he had washed up to his satisfaction, he walked out to the living room and turned on the TV and his video game console.

"Davis, what're you doing?!" yelled Jun as she walked out of the kitchen with some toast. 

"What?" he asked indignantly. "Whatever it is I didn't do it!"

"Don't you have a game today?" she asked. "Don't tell me you slept in!"

Davis remembered that today was the real Saturday (it was his third Saturday in a row), and slammed the ground with his fist. "Oh man!" Davis grabbed his bag at the base of the couch (where he had left it last week), and ran over Jun on his way out the door. "Out of my way, sis!"

She groaned as she picked herself up. _That's what you get for disturbing my beauty sleep at three in the morning, dear brother_.

****

Davis ran as fast as he could from his building to the playing field, trampling over several older ladies and nearly getting ran over by one or two cars. Unfortunately, his effort was for naught. By the time he reached the field, everyone had already left. Not a soul was left on the field.

"Aww, geez..." he muttered as he caught his breath at the field fence. "This just isn't my day, and it hasn't even started yet." When the boy had relaxed sufficiently, he decided to not waste the trip and went to a nearby fast food place for some early lunch. He had enough for a combination meal, so he treated himself to a sizeable lunch. When he was satisfied, he started walking home.

_Man...I just can't get over that dream. It was so real...and painful. I'm surprised I didn't die for real. ::_shiver_:: I'm glad it was just a dream. That means I still have a chance with Kari._ Davis saw an empty can up ahead and spontaneously started kicking it around like a soccer ball. He weaved it in and out as he walked down the sidewalk, and generally fooled around. After doing this for several minutes, he punted the can down the concrete walkway towards what he knew to be a park bench that the guys often hung out at. He watched it slide to a halt as it the feet of someone sitting there. Davis cringed.

"Sorry about that..." he looked up all the way, and saw the person he had hit do the same. When their eyes met, Kari gasped happily and charged at Davis, nearly bowling him over with a hug that he wasn't prepared for. For a second he thought she was trying to choke the life out of him, and consequently pleaded for his life as best he could. Gatomon giggled from where Kari had left her on the table, trying to maintain her guise as a doll.

"Davis!" she said as she cried into his shoulder.

Davis grew worried. _Oh no...this isn't another dream, is it?_ Davis uneasily held Kari, and as he did so he noticed the other digidestined children and their digimon (posing as stuffed animals) coming from the vending machines further into the park. They saw what was happening, and ran over to join them.

"Davis!" cheered Ken, nearly hugging him as well. "You're safe!"

"Well...yeah, of course I am," he said uneasily as Kari finally let him go. "What makes you think I wouldn't be?"

They all looked at each other, then TK spoke. "Don't you remember, Davis? Don't you remember what happened?"

Davis blinked. "What're you talking about?"

"That dream we all had," he continued.

"What?!"

"Davis, we all had the same dream!" Yolei said. "We found out when we met at the game today. When you weren't there, we thought you might have...well, you know."

"Why didn't you tell us you were alive?!" said Kari as she tried act angry.

Davis put his hands up defensively. "I'm sorry! How was I supposed to know that we all had the same dream?" Davis looked at Ken. "You mean you dreamt about Yolei and your brother?" 

Yolei looked at the purple-haired boy, who blushed and looked down nervously. "Uh...yes."

"And you dreamed about the Digimon Emperor?" Davis said toYolei. The girl nodded. Davis looked at Cody and TK. "And you really had your dreams too..."

TK nodded. "It all happened...at least, in our minds."

"How do you know about all that Davis?" Cody asked. "Were you watching us?"

Davis nodded slowly. "Yeah...before I met up with you guys, I had to see everything that you guys saw. The voice...I mean Azulongmon wanted me to see what made you guys who you are, so I could be a better leader."

"Azulongmon?! He was behind all this?" exclaimed TK. 

"Why would he do something like that?" Ken said. "I thought he was proud of us."

"I think it was just me he was concerned with the whole time," said Davis. "The only one he thought didn't belong in the group was me, so he pretended to be someone else so that he could test me. Luckily, I think I proved to him that I can be one of the digidestined."

"So you saw...everything?" asked Kari eventually. Davis nodded slowly. He knew what she meant by "everything". In mild disbelief, she asked "...And you still saved me?"

Davis shrugged. "It was only a dream, Kari. It wasn't real."

"It was real enough," she said seriously.

Gatomon managed to get over to the group without drawing attention. "I didn't know you had it in you, Davis. I owe you one."

"Uh...don't worry about it," he replied. Gatomon looked at Kari, waiting for her to say something, but the girl didn't. She looked like she was ashamed of something.

"What's important is that we're all okay," said Upamon happily, "and that bad dream is all done."

Davis yelled. "Oh no, Demiveemon! He's probably worried sick about me!" Davis ran past the others. "I'll see you guys later!" With that, the boy ran as fast as he could the rest of the way home.

TK noticed Kari's discomfort. While the others let their tension out with the sodas they just bought, he lightly touched her shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

Kari looked up at him, but she didn't give him an answer.

****

---That night---

_*Ring*...*Ring*..._

Davis picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi."

_"Hi Davis."_

"Kari? What's up?"

_"...Nothing much. I called because I want to ask you something."_

"Really? Okay, shoot."

_"...You know when you said you saw everything that happened during the tests?"_

"Yeah."

_"Well, I...I want to say I'm sorry."_

"For what? You didn't do anything."

_"...I kissed TK."_

"I know."

_"But it wasn't a normal kiss, Davis. It was a real kiss."_

"I know that too."

_"And after seeing you die for me...I feel really bad about it. I'm really sorry."_

"Kari, you don't have to apologize."

_"But, why? Aren't you hurt?"_

"*sigh*...of course I am Kari," he said softly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

_"You see? That's why I'm apologizing. I don't want to hurt your feelings."_

"Don't worry about it, really."

_"_[A long pause] _Davis, this isn't like you. Are you sure you're okay?"_

"I'm fine. It's just something Azulongmon told me."

_"...What'd he tell you?"_

"He reminded me that you and TK have been through more together than I ever will go through with you."

_"You two talked about me and TK?"_

"We talked about you guys, a lot. Basically, he showed me why you would always be closer to TK than me."

_"..."_

"Kari?"

_"Davis...I'm sorry. It must have been painful for him to tell you that. I know how much you like me."_

Davis felt his sadness once more, but he took a moment to force it back down. When he could speak again, he simply said "Yeah."

This seemed to make Kari feel guilty once again. _"Davis, no matter what happens from now on...I just want you to know that I care for you too. Nothing can change that. Not Azulongmon, not fate, not even TK."_

Davis smiled slightly as he started to feel comforted once again. "...Thanks, Kari," said the boy, his voice heavy with emotion. "Hearing that makes the whole thing worthwhile." At hearing those words, Kari seemed to feel the same comfort on the other end of the phone.

_"I'm glad you're okay with this. I'm sure TK'll be glad too."_

"Um…you know I'm not going to give up on you and me just because of what happened," warned Davis.

Kari giggled. _"I know. I don't expect you to change. In fact, I hope you never change."_

Davis smiled, and happened to glance up at the time. "I'd better go. I'll see ya later Kari."

_"…Alright Davis. Good night, and sweet dreams,"_ she said softly.

"…That shouldn't be a problem now," he replied. He wondered if Kari was blushing on the other side of the phone. Sadly, he would never know.

*click*

---THE END---

****

Seth's Thoughts: I'm not going to complain or praise myself, or anything of that nature. I just want to thank everyone who read this story. I only hope to offer you more as my skill develops. **::**bows**::**


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